Closed church to become wedding shop
City of York Council Planning PortalA former church is to become a wedding and prom dress shop after conversion plans were approved.
Dunnington Methodist Church closed during the Covid pandemic and was put on the market in 2025.
Plans from Vavavoom Bridal Boutique Ltd, based in Cleethorpes, stated the changes would preserve the character and appearance of the building in Common Lane,
Council planning officers said the benefit of bringing a vacant building back into use outweighed the loss of a community facility which has ceased operating.
Display areas, fitting rooms and customer service spaces will be created inside the building, but alternations would otherwise be minimal, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Visits to the shop would be by appointment only, which the applicants said would result in a modest level of visitor activity.
Plans stated the conversion would not result in any significant external alterations and the inside of the building was suited to its use a shop.
Council planning officers said the conversion would allow the historic church and its architectural features to be preserved.
Officers stated: "It has been demonstrated that there is no reasonable prospect of the use of the building as a community facility being retained.
"The facilities no longer serve a community function and are surplus to requirements."
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