A town's historic Methodist chapel that has laid empty for the past seven years could get a new lease of life after plans were unveiled to turn it into homes.
The Ebenezer Chapel in the West Wylam area of Prudhoe was built in 1874, but closed in 2015 due to dwindling congregation numbers.
Despite this, locals were up in arms last year when the building was put up for sale. A petition started by then town councillor Russ Greig described it as being at the "heart" of the West Wylam community.
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A statement issued alongside the petition read: "Our community should send a clear message to the Methodist Church that it should not be sold simply to be demolished for property development.
"The Ebenezer has been at the heart of our community since 1874 until 2015 when services stopped. It is one of the few remaining buildings of the old colliery village of West Wylam and is one of the most recognisable buildings as you enter Prudhoe.
"We cannot allow one of Prudhoe's historic buildings to be lost forever. Our community doesn't want the Ebenezer sold to a nameless property developer or investor simply for it to be demolished and lost forever to our community."
Now, however, plans have been put forward by a pairing consisting of the Prudhoe Community Partnership and housing association Karbon Homes. Caroline Warburton, the chairman of Prudhoe Community Partnership, said something had to be done with the site.
She said: "It has been empty for seven years and prior to that, people just weren't going. It became surplus to requirements. We have do something with it.
"I know as soon as something like this is mooted, people say they don't want it to go, but nobody had any other plans for it.
"This development will keep the essence of what was there, but will also provide quality accommodation. There will be five flats, four with two bedroom and one one-bed.
"The footprint of the building will stay, but there will also be a couple of extensions either side. This is a long-standing issue that has been going on for a very long time."
Mrs Warburton also explained that there had been a covenant in place by the Methodist Church that said a service would have to be held there each week, but negotiations had seen the church agree to remove it.
The plans, which are currently at the pre-application stage, were presented at last week's meeting of Prudhoe Town Council and were approved by members. Karbon Homes have been contacted for comment.
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