The opening of a church in a central Spalding former department store has taken a huge step forward.
The Lighthouse Church in Spalding has been given the keys to the former Coneys and Hills Department Store after completing its purchase of the property last week.
As well as its current services, including food bank, the church community wants to include a cafe, soft play area and book store.
The plans proved divisive when announced, but permission was granted last July.
The deciding South Holland District Council Planning Committee had been recommended to refuse the application but councillors voted 11-3 in favour of them.
It was the second time it had been before them after previously being deferred.
Speaking on behalf of the trustees of The Lighthouse Church, Jenny Tedbury said: “It’s a massive relief and quite frightening too as it’s a big building.
“We’re now looking forward to providing all the community services we’ve been pledging to provide for a while.
“It’s about serving the community in a more official way.
“We want to move our services over as fast as we can but it could take time.”
Jenny confirmed that The Lighthouse Church’s current base is on the market to be sold.
“We’ve got all the works to do on the new site so we’re still operating out of the old site for now,” she continued.
