Dalston church hall could be converted into workspace for small businesses

Councillors will consider the plans next week

A city centre hall used by a church could be redeveloped into workspace – with worshippers to move to a new community centre.

The Benyon Estate, part of the Englefield Estate Trust Corporation Ltd, wants to breathe new life into a warehouse on Kingsland Road that was originally built in the 1920s for a garage company.

Benyon has won awards for retrofitting old buildings in the area and has teamed up with Clerkenwell Green Property Management Limited to create the workspace.

It will house up to 19 small businesses in self-contained units around a central atrium. The plan is to call it Tramline Studio.

The two-storey former industrial building has a long narrow “outrigger” building stretching beside the back gardens of homes on Hertford Road.

The applicants plan to build a single-storey community building clad in metal as a new home for the Amazing Grace Worship Centre, and other community activities.

These could include education groups, language classes, yoga, acting and dance classes, and meeting space for local societies.

A four-storey house could also be built on land between homes on Englefield Road.

Plans for a mews of four houses was dropped after consultations with neighbours.

The Amazing Grace Worship Centre has written in support of the plans, saying they will help them “pursue their charitable community objectives”.

The Worship Centre currently uses part of the building at weekends and typically attracts a congregation of 60, according to the application.

Part of the building is currently sub-let to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

According to the applicant, part of the site is underused or not used at all and “the buildings have fallen into a state of disrepair”.

A planning document said the scheme “has been sensitively designed” to consider the character of the area.

The council has received five letters of objection, with some concerned that dark zinc cladding on the community centre would be “more visually obtrusive”.

The application will be considered by Hackney Council’s planning committee next week. Councillors have been recommended to approve the scheme.