Plans to replace a disused village hall near Boroughbridge into housing have been submitted.

The application, which was put to North Yorkshire Council last week, seeks approval to demolish Cundall Village Hall and replace it with two dwellings and parking garages.

Applicant One North Property Ltd, a Northallerton-based developer, plans to turn the village hall into two semi-detached, three-bedroom properties.

Planning documents say the two-storey buildings would “achieve a good standard of design” and would reflect the character of other properties in Cundall village.

One North Property also proposes to build a third house on a plot of land adjacent to a cottage that neighbours the village hall. It would be a detached property with a similar layout as the planned village hall site.

New vehicular access would also be created, should the plans be approved. 

Although the application site can be broken into two, the plans represent a single development scheme that allows for the redevelopment of the village hall site, the application says.

Marketing documents submitted as part of the application outlines the recent history of the village hall.

A letter from estate agent Savills says the site was gifted to the community by the trustees of the Cundall Estate in 1965. Its use as a village hall has dwindled over the last 15 years, the agent says, adding it has been redundant for a decade.

The trustees decided to sell the property in 2020, when Savills was appointed, with the intention of maintaining its community use.

The unit is considered “unviable” as a village hall, according to planning documents, and the funding required to repair it and bring it back to community use would “discourage any future re-use”.

It was listed for sale at £100,000. The agent received 94 enquiries over the 20 months the village hall was marketed, but just five of those suggested an alternate community use.

These included opening a soup kitchen, a yoga studio, a mental health workshop space and a children’s nursery.

Someone also suggested turning it into a village shop, but they wanted to convert the unit into a house and operate the shop out of one room. 

All five prospects were deterred by the amount of investment required to bring the village hall up to scratch, Savills adds.

Around 92% of the enquiries received wanted to convert the village hall into housing. 

It was taken off the market in May 2022. George Howie, owner of One North Property Ltd, told the Stray Ferret the sale of the site is subject to planning. 

‘Positive addition to the street’

A design and access statement, submitted on behalf of the applicant, says the existing village hall is of “low architectural merit” and “poor visual appearance”.

It adds a survey found the roof is in "extremely poor condition", which had lead to extensive water ingress, and problems with keeping the building weatherproof have led to several sections of the timber-framed buildings being deemed "unsafe" and a potential health and safety hazard that "could collapse at any time". 

The new homes would be a good quality development, which would be a positive addition to the local street scene and would enhance the character and appearance of the village overall, the statement says. 

The two neighbouring cottages would also benefit from a new vehicular access proposed by One North. Plans say:

The third house would be accessed by a new entrance to the main road, it adds.

North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plans at a later date. 

The Stray Ferret approached Cundall with Lecky and Norton le Clay Parish Council for a comment on the plans, but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.