The designers of a proposed new-to-sector forecourt in Anglesey have drawn on the heritage of a Baptist chapel that previously occupied the plot on which the filling station is set to sit.
Lewis Forecourt Holdings, which operates four filling stations in the area, received feedback during pre-planning discussions with Isle of Anglesey County Council that led the firm to undertake “a comprehensive review” of its original plans, which comprised a conventional glass-fronted forecourt shop of an “established commercial design language”.
Having gone back to the drawing board for the development, which sits in a Conservation Area on Dale Street in Menai Bridge, the firm came up with a design it says reflects “the proportions, roof form and architectural language” of the Capel Moreia.
The Chapel was built in 1884, ceased hosting services in the 1990s, and was demolished in 2022 after falling into disrepair and developing significant structural deficiencies.
The revised design for the site’s Spar shop “provides a clear visual reference to the former chapel”. It features traditional masonry and a pitched roof with gable ends, while the vertically proportioned windows are topped with arched stonework.
JMS Planning, which was commissioned by Lewis Forecourt Holdings for the project, says the intention behind the redesign was not “to create a literal replica of the demolished chapel”, but rather to “reinterpret its key architectural characteristics within a contemporary commercial building”.
The forecourt canopy, meanwhile, will be set back from the street the site adjoins and has been designed to be “visually subordinate to the convenience store”.
North Wales Live reports the land on which the chapel previously sat was put up for sale for £250,000, while the neighbouring house, which is set for demolition, sold for £265,000 in 2024.
