Baptist Chapel

Zerum provided planning and EIA advice for this 23 storey residential tower on an arterial route into the city centre. It provides 133 apartments; a ground floor commercial unit; ancillary co-working and wellbeing facilities for residents; and two terraces. The proposals are car free and will encourage sustainable urban living.

Retention of the historic chapel frontage and its spacious interior were priorities from the Council around which the design approach evolved. This required overcoming significant structural challenges, made more complex by the dense urban location. The result is a striking atrium with retained columns, gallery and barrel vaulted roof structure. From the street, the chapel frontage is intentionally contrasted with the modern tower, allowing both elements to be fully celebrated.

Work was frontloaded at the pre-application stage to gain clarity on key principles through detailed dialogue with officers. Public consultation was undertaken via a letter drop, website and targeted communication with interested parties. The Environmental Statement was scoped and Zerum acted as coordinator in drawing together a robust, proportionate assessment focused on key issues.

The proposed scale required rigorous justification, particularly given the variety of existing heights which range from 6 storeys to 19, and to 34 storeys towards the city centre. The scheme was shown to provide exceptional design quality whilst regenerating a vacant, sustainably located site and simultaneously bringing back into use a redundant historic building and promoting it for long-term viable use.