A 168-YEAR-OLD redundant chapel is set to be converted into a home after planners approved its change of use and the building of a new extension.

Gideon Chapel on Loop Road, The Hudnalls, St Briavels Common, stands in the Wye Valley AONB next to a Site of Special Scientific Interest and was recently sold for £150,000.

Built in 1852 and enlarged in 1880, the former Congregational place of worship will see an existing single storey rear extension knocked down and replaced, the creation of two new window openings in the side, the installation of a roof light in the back roof slope and the inclusion of a mezzanine floor to create a first floor bedroom.

In the early 1900s, the chapel operated as a mission station for the main place of worship in St Briavels.

By the 1980s, it was used mainly as a youth centre by members of the the village chapel congregation and by visiting groups from other churches.

A report to Forest planners said: “The applicant during the purchase of the property spoke to a number of local people, one of which is a current member of the congregation of St Briavels Congregational Church, who reported that the chapel has had no congregation of its own since the 1950s and that during the 1980s it was occasionally used by the Congregational church for youth activities.

“It would also appear that in the 1990s and early 2000s, the chapel may have been hired out informally for summer camping.

“The current pastor of the St Briavels Church, Matt Rees informed the applicant when handing over the keys following the recent purchase of the chapel that as far as he knew it had not been used in any capacity for many years.”

Forest planners approved its conversion on condition that a programme of archaeological work is submitted and approved to allow the investigation, recording and removal of any human remains that may be destroyed by ground works.