Highland 200-year-old Telford Kirk house conversion plan lodged for former Poolewe church in Wester Ross
A historic B-listed kirk designed by famed engineer Thomas Telford almost two centuries ago may finally return to use as a house - almost two decades after works "stalled".
An application has been lodged to convert the former Poolewe Church, which was built by Telford in 1828 and sits in the vilalge next to the B8057 - the road that leads out to Inverasdale and Cove.
The new application by Paul Forrest is not the first bid to convert the historic building - one of 32 Telford Kirks built across the Highlands and islands by the famed engineer and architect.
Permission was granted to a previous owner as far back as March 2002 to turn it into a private home and artist's studio, with efforts to keep that approval 'live' for much of the following noughties.
A fresh approval was granted in August 2009, but supporting documents lodged with this month's brand new application explained: "Due to the recession, works stalled and no progress was made, aside from basic maintenance, very little has been done to the property over the last 17 years".
However, they explain that this is about to change: "The plan now is bring forward new proposals - based on the original approved design but with a more holistic approach updated to meet 2025 energy targets and CO2 emission restrictions".
Under the fresh proposals, the interior of the kirk will be split into two storeys, with a ground floors featuring two bedrooms, an en suite, a bathroom and a spacious open plan living room kitchen and dining area. The two existing small entry halls/vestibules, and toilet, will be retained.
The ground floor will also feature an internal spiral staircase leading up to a large open plan gallery and another bathroom.
Describing the state of the current building, and reasoning behind the conversion plans, the supporting statement said: “The building is vacant and has not been in use since 2002.
“Internally, most timber finishes have suffered from rot and decay and a couple of windows have collapsed.
“The roof is in a poor state and showing signs of deflection. The entire roof needs to be repaired in natural slate to a conservation standard, this is likely to involve some rot works and replacement of wall head and roof joist ends.
“The timber floor has also been removed as it was rotten. The masonry walling is mass hard stone and in reasonable condition considering its age.”
As well as various repairs to the fabric of the building, the plans also include external solar panels, which will be fitted to parts of the roof facing east and south. The existing windows - two of which are described as having "rotted and fallen out" will be replaced with remade double-glazed timber windows designed with "Y mullion proportion, casement and section sizes matching the original".
The document argues a similar approach was done to a Telford kirk on Bernaray in the Outer Hebrides in 2013.
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