Otley Jehovah's Witness building set for transformation as full plans unveiled

Kingdom Hall in Cross Green, Otley, has been used as a place of worship since it was constructed. However, a planning application to Leeds City Council said the building no longer meets the requirements of worshippers and risks “falling into disuse”.

CRL Architects want to convert the building into offices, using internal partitioning to create new rooms with a “contemporary design”, as well as the addition of electric vehicle charging points. The building is located in the heart of Otley’s town centre, close to shops, pubs and schools, as well as bus routes serving the surrounding areas.

In the application, submitted to the council on December 1, developers said: “The proposal seeks to reuse an existing building through change of use. The Kingdom Hall was purpose built as a place of worship for the Jehovah’s Witness faith. It is now sublemental [sic] to their requirements and risks falling into disuse or succumbing to development pressure.

"The proposal has been designed with as little intervention as possible to the building. The current configuration of rooms prior to the hall, namely, kitchen, toilets and single office are retained in their use. The hall is proposed to be subdivided to create four offices, separated by a central corridor, followed by an open-plan desk space and the rear area is partitioned off to create a training room.”

The council has carried out a flood management inspection and found no known flood risks to the site.