New future lined up for former chapel

The former Engedi Welsh Calvinistic Methodist chapel in Colwyn Bay has been acquired by a property developer which intends to convert the building into apartments.Gothic & Stone has acquired the property, which has been vacant for approximately 20 years, from a trust.Plans, drawn up by the Manchester-based GA Studio Architects, have been submitted and seek to convert the former chapel into 18 residential apartments.These plans are currently being considered by Conwy County Borough Council. An earlier owner previously secured planning permission to convert the building, which is not listed and is no longer registered as a church, into 12 apartments.Gothic & Stone has, in the interim, been granted permission by the council’s building regulations department to carry out preliminary works on the site. These works are now underway and the developer hopes to get the final go-ahead for its plans by mid-June.Gothic & Stone was advised on the purchase by Glaisyers Solicitors, which is also providing ongoing legal advice as Gothic & Stone redevelops the disused church.The deal to acquire the property completed in mid-March. Subject to planning consent, Gothic & Stone expects the development, which will be called “Trinity”, to be completed by Easter 2021.Ross Wellman, partner in the property department at Glaisyers, led the firm’s advice on the legal aspects of the purchase. He continues to oversee Glaisyers’ ongoing advice on the project, which includes representing the developer in its dealings with bridging finance providers and handling future plot sales.The firm is currently putting together sales packs for use with solicitors acting for buyers of the apartments. Four apartments have already been reserved and the total value of the development is expected to be in excess of £3m.Gothic & Stone is a venture established by the Aberystwyth-born, Manchester-based property developer Alexander Taylor.The Engedi Welsh Calvinistic Methodist chapel, on Woodland Road West in Colwyn Bay, first opened its doors to worshipers in 1879. The Methodist church closed in 1987 and the building was then used as a place of worship by the Elim Pentecostal Church in the 1990s before falling into disuse around the turn of the millennium.