Planning permission: Bid to turn Grade II listed former Dewsbury church described as “landmark feature” into apartments submitted to Kirklees Council

A proposal to convert the Church of the Holy Innocents, on Vicarage Road, into two apartments has been submitted to the council.

The proposal has been made across two applications – one for listed building consent and one for the conversion itself – and both were received by the council on February 17, 2025.

A Heritage, Design and Access Statement submitted alongside the application states that the site has been vacant since 2019, and that the proposals aim to “keep demolition and re-modelling of the existing listed building to an absolute minimum thus retaining as much of the existing building fabric as practically possible.”

The document also describes the building as a “landmark feature” within Dewsbury.

As part of the conversion, the applicant proposes preserving parts of the original building, including stained glass windows, bells and clock equipment, the main heavy timber front door, font, pulpit, and the spire.

Seven parking spaces would be included as part of the proposals.

The applicant had previously applied for permission to convert the church in July 2023, but this was refused by the council in the November of that year.

The council cited a number of reasons for its decision at the time, such as that the applicant had “failed to demonstrate that the proposed works are wholly necessary”, or that the public benefits would justify the conversion, among other reasons.

The latest application “follows dialogue with the planning department” surrounding the previous submissions for planning permission.

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