New planning documents reveal that a massive new church is set to be constructed in Blackley, on the site of a former convent. The World Mission Agency, which currently holds services on Broughton Lane in Salford, has acquired the Chain Road site in north Manchester and is now seeking permission to demolish the former Convent of the Good Shepherd and erect a new place of worship.
The church's new Winners Chapel will accommodate a 1,500-strong congregation in an 'ultra-modern' facility. Its application says: "The current church building is no longer fit for purpose and have recently purchased the land at 114 Chain Road in Blackley to develop proposals to demolish the existing aged buildings on the site and construct an ultra-modern 1,500 seater worship centre with community facilities.
"The mix of uses would include principally; a 1,500 seater chapel, multi-purpose community hall for organisational and community use, a training and development centre, youths' development centre, day nursery, function rooms and other mixed uses for the organisation's offices including a cafe/restaurant."
The convent only has one entrance, which neighbours a cluster of schools known as the 'Higher Blackley Education Village'. This means both the schools and church would share one access route, Chain Road.
In a bid to manage the parking needs of its congregation, the church has proposed the construction of '189 car parking spaces, including 20 EV charging spaces and 12 accessible spaces', along with '10 motorcycle parking spaces' and '40 cycle storage spaces'. At present, approximately two-thirds of the congregation drive to Sunday services, reports .
However, the World Mission Agency is proposing special shuttle buses to mitigate traffic congestion in the vicinity. The planning application said: "A church bus service has been established to manage traffic to and from the site during services and this is proposed to be expanded to encourage more church users to travel sustainably," adding that "With the anticipated growth in congregation size, this bus service is proposed to increase by 15.23 percent, decreasing car usage for travel to and from the site."
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