Wednesday, 8 February 2006
Personal
Another conversion for Jesus
What do you see in this photograph? "A church"? Right, but ask the church what they see and they'll tell you otherwise.
According to a planning application recently submitted by Beaumont Baptist Church, they see the building becoming a single house. They see five bedrooms, all en-suite. A detached triple garage with office, spa and sauna. They see a private cinema, a study and ancillary rooms surrounding a large open-plan living space. A dining table set for ten. Six three-person sofas.
Oddly for the conversion of a Baptist chapel just about the only thing missing is an indoor swimming pool.
I presume the church don't intend on undertaking the conversion themselves but are applying so as to prove the value of the land when they come to sell it. I won't object to the application - I have no grounds on which to do so - and I don't know what will happen to the congregation. But it'll be sad to see the inevitable eventual renaming of the road to Old Chapel Street.