A popular church is to expand its community services by creating a meeting room and extra offices in its former vicarage.

St Luke’s House in Maidstone had until recently been used as accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

One of the families that lived there has been found permanent accommodation elsewhere, enabling a different use for the ground and first floors of the building, which was erected in 1897 as the vicarage for the neighbouring St Luke’s Church.

The second floor will remain as a self-contained flat.

Maidstone council has granted permission for a change of use, which in fact was simply a return to how the building had been used prior to 2022.

There were no objections raised to the scheme, and planning officers observed that there were no policies preventing the conversion of residential accommodation to office use, unless the conversion resulted in adverse effects for the neighbours.

There will be no change to the exterior of the property, and no expansion in the number of church staff - currently four.

The vicar, Gareth Dickinson. said: “The Ukranian family have moved to a property just a stone’s throw from St Luke’s House, and they remain very much a part of our church community.”

St Luke’s Church itself is Grade II listed, having been built in 1895 to a design in an Arts and Crafts style by the distinguished British architect W.Howard Seth-Smith.

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Details of this application can be seen on the Maidstone council website, under application number 24/501466.