A historic Lanarkshire church has been converted into flats – with its first tenants now getting set to move into modern new homes inside the 134-year-old building.
The former Broomknoll Church in Airdrie town centre has been transformed into 14 new one- and two-bedroomed properties, with unique features including incorporating the C-listed building’s feature windows into the centre of the new living spaces.
Special guests including congregation members had the opportunity to see the finished project at a special open day, where they shared nostalgic memories as they looked to the future.
Broomknoll had been vacant since the church merged with nearby Flowerhill nearly a decade ago to become the new Cairnlea church, which has just completed a £1.4 million transformation of its building at Johnston Street.
Planning permission for the conversion was granted in 2018 and work by new owners Clyde Valley Housing Association (CVHA) – who have converted the site for social rental – began in January 2020.
As well as 14 flats in the church itself, there are a further three in a new extension connected to the main building via a glass corridor showcasing two preserved stained glass windows; while another 13 main-door properties have been built in place of the demolished former church hall and a 1930s extension.
Malcolm Ross, of the merged church’s Cairnlea 2020 group, said of the finished redevelopment: “It’s absolutely outstanding and it’s an amazing engineering feat; the church was on three levels and now it has four inside.
“We had 50 members going along to see inside and they were very impressed; it was a very emotional journey for some and people were sharing their memories of what was where before the conversion.
“Everyone thought the frontage was excellent with all the stonework having been redone absolutely beautifully; and it was fantastic to see the beautiful stained glass windows have been retained and can be seen in the corridor.”
The address of the new homes will be Broomknoll Church Court, and Malcolm added: “People are delighted that the name is being preserved for the future – our vision was to develop the church to retain its heritage in the town, leaving a legacy for former Broomknoll folk and looking to put in something that was a social amenity for Airdrie.
“It’s part of the south gateway to the town and I think the new residents are going to benefit from the wonderful location in the town centre and the very good complex which will be very warm, cosy, quiet and comfortable to live in.
“CVHA and [developers] Rosewood Homes provide quality social housing and we feel our members are very happy with the tremendous job they’ve done; we’re aware of what’s involved in redoing these buildings having done so at Cairnlea, and we’re continuing to work on our vision there by creating a community hub.”
Another of the interested visitors to see inside the 30 new homes at the converted church site was CVHA board member Campbell Boyd – who grew up in nearby Cairnhill and attended Sunday school at Broomknoll for a decade.
The prominent local solicitor has been involved with the housing association since the days of its original pre-establishment steering group in 1994 after seeing information about the proposed new organisation in the solicitors’ room at Airdrie sheriff court.
He told Lanarkshire Live: “Sunday school was on the left-hand side of the church, at the front; I always enjoyed it and there were always good awaydays! My family later moved and we then went to Wellwynd and Airdrie High churches, but I’ve continued to be in Broomknoll for special occasions over the years.
“The conversion is exceptional – churches can be very difficult to deal with because of the internal height, but it’s been done very well and it’s sympathetically retained a number of features.
“It now shines out in that street and looks lovely with the golden sandstone and two stained glass windows in the stairwell; there’s a lovely feature window near the top which is now the living room of one of the new flats. The residents will have very modern living and it’s nice to see something that brings people to live in the town centre.”
CVHA describe Broomknoll Church Court as “much-needed social housing at the heart of Airdrie”; the project was made possible thanks to a Scottish Government grant award of £2.5m and North Lanarkshire Council support of £275,000.
Housing association chief executive Lynn Wassell said: “Repurposing an existing building such as this brought its challenges, but the effort has been worthwhile to retain the original character of the building while delivering quality accommodation in the town centre.
“Providing good quality, affordable homes is at the heart of our mission, and given the tough times being experienced by all our communities at the moment it’s essential we tackle ambitious projects to provide much-needed homes.
“Broomknoll Church is part of our £25 million development programme this year; and it supports the aims of the Cairnlea 2020 group which has worked so hard to reinvest the sale [proceeds] into the redevelopment of Cairnlea, delivering a legacy for the wider community in Airdrie which will last for generations to come.”
The yellow sandstone Gothic building, located in the town’s Victoria and town centre conservation area, was designed by James Davidson in 1888 and has been a C-listed building since 2002.
Its conversion is among nearly 300 new homes created by CVHA during the past 12 months, including at nearby Sullivan Place along with new developments in Coatbridge.
CVHA was also behind the conversion of the former library in Coatbridge into flats four years ago, with the transformed building being officially opened by the Princess Royal and going on to be nominated for a national award.
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