A HISTORIC barn can be converted for residential use – despite fears that future occupants might suffer a noise nuisance from a nearby community centre.
Planning chiefs at Warrington approved the conversion at The Cottage, Bellhouse Lane, Grappenhall at the second time of asking.
Similar proposals were refused in 2022 but the borough’s development management committee heard that planning officers now believed amendments to the original proposals made the scheme acceptable.
Objections were received from Grappenhall Youth and Community Centre, Grappenhall Pre-School and nearby residents on the grounds of loss of privacy, traffic concerns and the potential for noise issues for the future occupiers of the building.
The committee was told the barn adjoins The Cottage – formerly known as Bellhouse Farmhouse – which is a Grade 2 Listed building and has been in residential use since 1840.
Plans now approved will allow the barn to be converted into a one-bedroom, two-storey dwelling. There will be an outside patio area and parking for one vehicle.
Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council also expressed conern that noise from the existing community centre could affect the residential amenities of the future occupiers of the converted barn.
