PLANS have been unveiled to convert a former church into a three bedroom home.

Boxted Methodist Church held its last service in June 2019.

Now plans have been submitted to Colchester Council to change the use of the site into a home with an extension.

The planning statement says the home would be created for a family who regularly attended the church “for generations”.

Under the plans space for car parking will also be created along with new access to the site from Chapel Road.

The proposals reveal the church organ will be retained and repositioned within a library.

There will be an open plan living area along with bedrooms and en suites.

The plans say “careful consideration” has been given to the design of the rooms.

The chapel was openmed in 1831 and is the oldest Wesleyan Methodist chapel building in the borough.

The application said: “The Boxted Methodist Church became redundant as a place of worship and ceased operating in July 2019 due to the rising costs of maintaining the church with a declining following.

“Given the nature of the sale of the site, the viability options for proposals were vastly reduced.

“However, the applicants purchased the church and own the adjacent field. As previous frequent attendants of the church, the family propose to convert the building into a dwelling.

“This application sees the reuse of a disused building in the countryside to provide a self-build dwelling with interesting architectural features and artistic detailing which complements the rural character of the area whilst remaining subservient to the locally listed non-designated heritage asset.”

Colchester Council will have the final say.