Batheaston locals objecting to a plan to demolish a brutalist church in the village to build four houses have said their concerns have been “ignored.” Built in 1967, the Church of the Good Shepherd is a rare example of brutalist architecture in the area but it closed in March 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a declining congregation. Now the Diocese of Clifton wants planning permission to demolish the church and build four houses on the site.
After its plans , they have now been amended back with one of the homes which had been proposed to have an extra storey reduced to the same height as the others and a “more traditional ‘cottage’ styling” for the facade of the homes. But more than 50 locals have lodged fresh objections to the new plans. Judith Knight said: “The new plans do not seem to have taken on any of the objections which have been made previously in terms of materials to be used and the scale of the building.
The design is insensitive and unsympathetic to the surrounding village. “Most importantly the height of the central part of the church (the 'spire') should not be taken as the overall height of the new buildings as this will entirely block out the view from the houses in the Batch and elsewhere in the immediate neighbourhood.” She added: “It seems that all the objections made previously have been ignored, and as such my objections still stand.
” Emma Adams added: “The Catholic church is part of the history and landscape of Batheaston .