Listed Shipley church returned to its original use

A church dating back to the 1860s can once again officially be used as a place of worship, after plans were approved by Bradford Council.

In 2012, the council approved a planning application to convert the ground floor of the Grade II listed Wesleyan Reformed Church on Manor Lane in Shipley into a children’s play centre.

Since the play centre’s closure last December, the ground floor has been used for worship by the Christian Life Church, which occupies the rest of the building.

But that happened while the ground floor still had planning permission for a play centre, not a place of worship – and the organisation had to apply retrospectively to change its use.