Church-goers speak out in support of building expansion plans |
The St Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, put forward plans for a second floor and a tower to be built on its single-storey building on Oak Street.
The church is located on Oak Street (Image: Newsquest)
According to the proposals, another storey will be added to the site where there will be a kitchen, toilets, two offices and a library.
One person commenting on the plans, who also lives nearby on St Martins Close, said: "The parish has grown significantly in the last few years and is a vibrant and diverse community.
"As well as a broad mix of Eastern European immigrants and refugees, there has also been an influx of British people, particularly men - me being one of them - who have found a sense of belonging and purpose through the community.
"The building is no longer fit for its use - it's often bursting at the seams on Sundays.
Designs of what the tower could look like (Image: Toma Design and CGI)
"The proposal to make it larger, without increasing the footprint would solve a lot of problems the community has to deal with as well as visually improving our corner of the city."
But not everyone is singing praises over the plans.
One person said: "I would thoroughly recommend the planning application for this building is turned down due to the fact there are residential properties opposite and the proposed application would block out light. There are plenty of empty churches in Norwich for them to move into."
The church is dedicated to the medieval Russian prince who lived during the 1200s and is open to "people from many different nationalities and backgrounds".
The church held its first service, known as a first liturgy, in 2016 after the priest at the time saw the plot was available for leasehold at £50,000.
But eight years later, the parish was able to purchase the building from Norwich City Council after taking out a £32,500 mortgage.