Proposal to repurpose closed Sandycroft church for business use

Plan have been submitted to turn a former church in Sandycroft into a light manufacturing site.

The proposals relate to St Francis’ Church, a Church in Wales place of worship which closed in 2022.  It requests a change of use to allow a business to operate. But the plans also specify that there is no intention to carry out any construction or refurbishment work at all on the site.

According to Flintshire County Council’s planning department, the applicant is an electrical contractor who intends to use the site for work related to various contracts.

St Francis’ was designed by Sir Charles Nicholson in Gothic style and opened in 1913, despite not being completed until 1935.

It was consecrated by the Bishop of St Asaph the same year. Only two bays of the nave were ever built and a balcony in the chancel was believed to be for an organ which was not installed.

The church is the site of a war memorial honouring those who gave their lives fighting in World War One and World War Two.

As part of the sale a condition was included that should the memorial, stained glass, font, altar, bell or plaques be removed, they should be offered to the Church in Wales before being sold or disposed of.

By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter