Flushing Methodist Church

03/07/2023

21 Days to make any comments

The long-expected planning application for the Chapel was validated by CCC planning on the 26th of June.
We have I think 21 days to make any comments.

The application is for a single dwelling (4 bedrooms) with car parking for 2 cars.

In the planning application, the housing category is described as “Market Housing” which means it can be sold on the open market after completion, or upon receipt of planning consent. (If the applicant wanted to live in it, he could have opted for the self-build category which would have saved him about £71,000 in CIL charges and probably an additional £50,000 in VAT)

Based on the above, it would look likely that the applicant intends to sell the property on receipt of planning consent or after developing it. In either instance, the village will be left with whatever problems exist while the applicant “trousers” his profit and disappears into the sunset.

As an indication of the problems, we might have to face in the future, the planning application drawing of the house shows a large clear area on the ground floor, overlooked by galleries at both ends, this would be ideal for lively parties. This leads to a risk that the house could go into the short-term holiday rental market and become a “party house” leading to a reduction of our residential amenity.

One result of the research on the recently adopted Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) was that a large majority of the residents of Flushing wanted all new housing to be Primary dwellings, (A primary dwelling is a house occupied full-time by the owner or a tenant on a long-term rental agreement.) unfortunately, this was inextricably dropped from the NDP before it was adopted by Cornwall County Council.

Even though the primary housing requirement was omitted from the NDP, it represents our strongest protection against this, and other new builds being bought up by investors and used as short-term holiday rentals, which apart from the disruption they can cause to residents, do not contribute to the housing stock available for the population of Cornwall.

We will object to the application because it presumes a vehicular right of way over land which belongs to our family. (This is to access the car parking) No such right of way has been granted.

I informed the Architect who also turns out to be the applicant that we would dispute any assumption of a right of way and would only grant it if the house was restricted to being a primary dwelling.

Vincent Roberts
32 Kersey Rd

03/07/2023

We, a neighbour of the Chapel are opposing the planning application for the reasons listed below.

Planning Application Ref PA23/04246
Flushing Methodist Church. 8 Kersey Road Flushing, Falmouth.
Objection.
We object to the planning application on the grounds that it assumes a right of way for vehicles over land which is owned by our family.
No such right of way exists for the owners of the Methodist Church. Consequently, the development cannot provide the car parking spaces indicated in the planning application.
The absence of adequate off-road car parking was a major reason for the dismissal of the appeal for the previous application by The Planning Inspectorate (ref APP/D0840/W/21/3272306 dated 26th August 2021) On the basis that this new application cannot provide car parking we feel that it should be refused.
To provide some context, we advised the applicant that no vehicular right of way existed, prior to the application being submitted to the Cornwall County Council planning department, and we feel that the application form submitted for planning consent was inaccurate in the answers to questions in the section relating to vehicular access, roads, and rights of way.
Lest we appear to be being unreasonably obstructive in our refusal to agree to a vehicular right of way, we can confirm that we have offered in writing to the applicant to grant a right of way on the condition that the new dwelling should be used solely for permanent owner occupation, or long-term tenancy and that there should be a restriction on any use for short term holiday letting.
Our reasons for requiring a legally binding agreement on the use of the dwelling as a primary residence are as follows.
• Houses used as holiday lets do not contribute to the local housing stock.
• It is recorded in the research for the NDP, that the majority of the residents of Flushing want all new housing to be for permanent occupation.
• Short-term holiday letting can be disruptive to the local residents, for a number of reasons, ranging from anti-social behaviour to inconsiderate parking.
Vincent Roberts. 32 Kersey Road, Flushing. TR11 5TR

25/04/2023

The Chapel has now been sold.

29/11/2022

Update on Methodist Church, Kersey Road Flushing.

As previously mentioned, Ambos, the community Land Trust we are working with, asked the Methodist Church Trustees if they could extend the auction period to allow adequate time for a fully costed viability plan to be prepared. This is obviously an important part of the due diligence process required by their lenders.
Unfortunately, the Methodist property committee were not
prepared to do this.
It is difficult to understand where this new urgency to sell the
property has come from, when one considers that the failed planning application and appeal took nearly 18 Months, concluding in August 2021. Another 14 months elapsed before the building was put on the market.
This reluctance to respond to a request supported by members of the village community comes as no surprise, since the inception of the original planning application, we have made numerous requests to the Methodist Church Property committee, (via their agents) to engage in consultation with the community, I cannot recall ever receiving the courtesy of a response to our communications.
Despite the time constraints, Ambos will strive to be in a position to take part in the auction, and hopefully be able to provide some
primary housing in the village.
You can find a link to Ambos below - even the smallest amount of support would be appreciated in supporting their efforts.
https://www.ambos.org.uk/

Send a message to learn more

19/11/2022

With only two weeks to go we would really appreciate your support in helping us aquire this site for affordable houseing. To support this - please become a member of Ambos - which you can do for a £1 or more depending on your budget.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.falmouthpacket.co.uk%2Fnews%2F23122732.flushing-methodist-chapel-campaign-stop-becoming-airbnb%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR316boZlfHDqAYAyu0q4Pkwp9XZV4u7AtTBMt232dpXV4VITIWeqs5765Q&h=AT07m0PGIccim_NnrC5cTevpVlfk6Wqto2nGkci1wVHZ_g24csza_E2z086-W6e1Rm917j5hjJfTzmrKMEzqhj1VFwkiVXAKZEYxcdRuo4MscU9aluilNSh3tmU2ZlugkfHdNA

PEOPLE living in Flushing are being urged to join a community campaign to buy the former Methodist chapel for 'primary housing' before it is sold to…

10/11/2022

The Methodist Church, 8 Kersey Road, Flushing
You may have noticed that the Methodist Church building is for sale by auction. It came on the market around the 29th of October, and the bidding is currently due to end in the first week of December.
In 2020-21 the village fought and won a long campaign against an inappropriate planning application that seemed to be designed to maximize the site value without regard to its detrimental effect on the village or the needs of the local population in terms of primary housing.
(Primary housing: means dwellings in full time occupation either rented or owned.)
We feel that the best outcome for the village and Cornwall's population is that the Church site should provide primary housing designed to conform with the principles outlined in the Mylor and Flushing Neighborhood Development Plan (NDP)(86% 0f respondents to the 2018 NDP survey, said all new housing should be primary residences)
One way of ensuring this is to purchase and develop the site using a Community Land Trust. (A Community Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization formed specifically for the purpose of holding and developing land for the benefit of the community.)
Not having the time or expertise to set up a new community land trust (CLT), we have approached an existing and experienced CLT called Ambos, which serves neighborhoods along the river Fal. (See links at foot of content)
Ambos is experienced in this type of social enterprise, with a strong board of trustees and existing access to funding. Based on this we think it represents the best way forward for this site, and the village.
What model of development will prove best is yet to be determined, (Co-ownership housing/Affordable rented etc.) however it will be primary housing, targeted in the best interests of the village and the local community.
What are the next steps?
Because of the very short period we have to act, I am personally going to help Ambos to try to secure the site. Then, working with them and the local community develop the best way forward in the interests of the village. I hope that many of you will join me and support us.
How you could support this.
Initially here is how you can do it; what follows is an extract from an email from Miguel Fernandez (One of Ambos trustees)

“I would like to point out that Ambos only operates where local people join the CLT to support our aims and objectives. The concept is that our funders investment is matched with that from a community group wanting to develop their local asset. It shows us that there is a community engaging with the project and is part of the decision-making process, which is what I believe we have just started to establish.
Therefore, it would be helpful if you and a few others from the village could become members of Ambos (min £1 - £100,000 max) and perhaps donate to support the CLT and validate/commission our efforts to support your bid for the chapel.”
If you want to support us on this, could you please do two things.
1. Send me a quick email, confirming your interest, and agreeing to be included on a mailing list to keep you informed. [email protected]
2. Signify your support for the help Ambos will be giving us on this project by becoming a member of Ambos
Ambos have written to the Methodist Church asking for more time, to prepare a viability study and secure funding for the Auction, but we can’t rely on getting a positive response to this request, so we are working flat out to secure the site for the community within the existing deadlines.
If Ambos is successful in securing the site for the community, we will all have the opportunity to be involved in this exciting venture, possibly by way of an investment loan offer which would provide a small return on larger investments related to this specific project.
Please find links about Ambos
https://www.ambos.org.uk/join-ambos
https://www.ambos.org.uk/s/Membership-offer-P06.pdf
https://www.ambos.org.uk/donate
What — Ambos
ACT Code — Ambos
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Vin Roberts 32 Kersey Road. Flushing. TR11 5TR
07771 601137
[email protected]
Please find updates about this campaign on our page - facebook.com/flushingmethodistchurch

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