Baptism pool could be created at Sheffield church

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, based at Hartshead, wants to build a two storey rear extension to house the pool and office.

The building was bought by the UCKG HelpCentre, which now occupies it.

A planning application says: “Currently the building is in need to be brought to modern stands by upgrading its services to provide the public and its congregation with a baptism pool and internal office use for the pastors.

“The brief is to make use of the empty space at the rear of the building as the organisation is in need of rooms to accommodate the needs of its congregation. The extension will occupy a site space of 35sqm.”

The church says the pool was granted planning permission in 2015 but it didn’t have funding to carry out the work at the time.

The application adds: “Research shows it was built in 1964 and it was designed by Hubert and H. Martin Lidbetter. The occupiers, Sheffield Friends, were mostly involved in business and commerce.

“The building was sold in the 1980s as it was hard to maintain it. There were plans to demolish it as part of a redevelopment but this was not done. Currently, it is being used by the UCKG as a place of worship.”

The UCKG is an Evangelical Christian church formed in Brazil in 1977. It came to the UK in 1995 and is currently in more than 100 countries.

Planning officers are considering the application