A church and its neighbours will discover soon if its plans to expand have been approved by Cornwall Council.

The Grace Church in Morval hopes to erect a new building, and says that this will create much needed facilities that can be used by its own congregation and other groups in the community alike.

But next door, the owner of the Tudor Lodge holiday accommodation says that the new building is being planned right up close to his boundary – and that if it goes ahead, the noise from events and activities and the loss of the current tranquility could ‘decimate’ his business.

The Grace Church itself was created in 1996 on an agricultural site and is housed inside a former potato barn: the new building would equally be of a simple, steel framed construction, the aim being to be “honest to the existing church building ….and give an aesthetic reflecting a couple of agricultural buildings in the Cornish countryside”.

The new building would provide another 240 square metres of floorspace (the existing building has 464 square metres).

In a statement provided to Cornwall Council, the Church said that the new building would be along the lines of a ‘no frills village hall’, with an open space capable of accommodating around 100 people, kitchen, toilet and shower facilities, a commercial kitchen, and a small coffee bar area.

The Church names a long list of local groups and organisations which were either already using the existing facilities at Morval prior to the pandemic, or who have expressed an interest in doing so: among them are clubs, fitness groups, the local primary school, and the Junk Food Project.

It says that it wants to be able to host and accommodate outside groups (free of charge) while services are going on concurrently at the church.

Next door at Tudor Lodges, owner Michael Tudor is extremely worried about the impact of the new building.

He has operated bespoke, high quality holiday accommodation for people with disabilities and their families and carers for the past 14 years.

He says that the business contributes around £750k in visitor spend to the local economy each year. As well as hosting annual group bookings from some 280 organisations and individuals from around the country, Tudor Lodges also provides a facility which is relied upon by Cornwall Council.

Mr Tudor says that excavations at Grace Church will be carried out “right on his boundary” and says that he is worried about the stability of the land. He believes that an area marked on the plans as a ‘terraced bank’ will be used as an amphitheatre, although this is not indicated on the plans Grace Church has submitted to Cornwall Council.

Mr Tudor has asked that the building be reoriented so that the location of an outdoor seating/eating area will impact less on his property, but says that the Church has said no.

“We’re not objecting to the building. If it were moved up a bit, and turned around, it’s fine.

“But we’re very concerned about the stability of our lodges and our tree line.

“The excavations needed along our boundary will be massive. Our accessible lodges rely on the peace and tranquillity of the Area of Great Lanscape Value.  After 14 years improving our holiday lodge complex in Morval, the likelihood is, this development could force our closure.

“We think we’ll have to close as soon as that big building goes up.”

Morval Parish Council resolved to support the application, after a vote where two of eight members objected. The Council did state that “it had some concerns” relating to the noise for neighbours and the increased traffic to the site.

Cornwall Council is set to determine the result of the planning application by October 6.

To view the plans visit the online planning register and use reference PA21/06289