Housing People, Building Communities (HPBC) has been granted planning permission to develop St Williams Church in Wigan into affordable housing for the local community.

HPBC will offer a reduction on the purchase price of properties by £10,000 by offering buyers the chance to pay the deposit through sweat equity hours by working on the development.

The former church and presbytery on Ince Green Lane, Ince, has been empty since 2017 and the archdiocese wanted to explore whether the buildings could be retained and repurposed to provide affordable housing for local people using HPBC’s unique model.

The former church will be converted into 10 two and three bed houses/apartments, the Presbytery into a three bed, two bed and one bed apartments, and the grounds behind will accommodate 14 three-bed houses.

The appealing design will incorporate the architecture of the church to conserve and retain the character, history and charm of the building, an early twentieth-century red brick lancet Gothic style church, built in 1911.

This comes after the success of HPBC’s conversion of St Bernard’s Church in Toxteth. The building was converted into 11 three-storey three-bedroom homes; four new-build two-bedroom apartments, and a three-bedroom house which was also built in the grounds whilst still maintaining the unique features of the church.

Pablo Guidi, social action coordinator at the Archdiocese of Liverpool said: “We have seen first-hand the benefits of this scheme through St Bernard’s. Local people who share the values of the archdiocese and HPBC worked so hard to not just create a happy home for themselves, but a strong community.  

“The community at St Bernard’s is alive again through the development and parishioners of the church were invited to see the restoration and they loved it and were so happy that the building had been putto such good use. We hope the same will happen at St William’s.”

Liza Parry, HPBC chief executive, added: “We are thrilled to be granted planning permission for St William’s, our experience elsewhere has shown us how this development has the potential to be a huge success in the area.

“The church has always been a landmark in the area and the development will help shape a new community, based on shared values and will give a much-needed offering for Wigan.

“The residents will be creating a real community by contributing to building their own homes and those of their neighbours.”

If you are interested in becoming a home partner, volunteer or would like to donate materials for the project, please visit HPBC’s website: hpbc.org.uk