A church hall that closed for worship 38 years ago may soon have a new congregation.

The Otford Lane Mission Church in Halstead near Sevenoaks opened in 1891, primarily to serve the local fruit pickers.

It closed in 1985. Since 1990 it has been used by the Otford Players, an amateur dramatic group, to store costumes and scenery.

But now members of Plymouth Brethren Church want to bring it back into use as a place of worship.

They have applied to Sevenoaks District Council for planning permission for a resumption of use as a place of worship along with permission to build a small extension to house facilities, including an accessible toilet.

At present, the timber building is in sound condition and has electricity, but no running water or toilets. The only form of heating is an open brick fireplace and chimney.

The Brethren intend to hold early evening services, probably twice a week, and a service on Sunday mornings.

They expect a congregation of between 30 and 40.

The application includes plans for a new cesspool, cycle storage, parking for eight cars with one EV charging point, and new entrance gates.

At present the hall is largely hidden from public view by a ring of trees, most of which are expected to be retained.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, visit publicnoticeportal.uk

To view this application, visit here.

Look for application number 23/02624.

The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church was established in the early 19th Century in Plymouth and now has a community of more than 50,000 members across the UK and as far as Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Americas.

They are known for their street preaching.