A FORMER village chapel and church hall could be demolished to make way for housing and a shop.

The former non-conformist chapel, in West Auckland, and the old church hall - both on Station Road - are subject to applications that could see them pulled down.

Developer Pars Homes has applied to replace the chapel, which is occupied by a furniture store, with a block of flats. Grocery chain Spar wants to move into a purpose-built shop, proposed for the site of the hall, which has stood empty for about three years.

Councillors at Wear Valley District Council will consider the plans for the chapel site at the next meeting of its development control committee, on Thursday. The proposals are for 15 two-bedroomed flats in a three-storey L-shaped building facing Station Road, with parking spaces at the rear and open space to the south west.

Concerns had been raised by the Environment Agency over the proximity of the site to the River Gaunless.

A recent programme of defence works has alleviated its concerns over the potential of flooding during heavy downpours. The building is occupied by the Priory Pine showroom, which was gutted by fire in January this year.

Boss Nigel Peacey, 58, of Hartlepool, died as a result of the blaze.

A planning application to demolish the old church hall and replace it with a new convenience store is expected to be discussed by the development control committee by the end of the year. Despite both buildings having social and historical connections with the community, neither are considered worthy of retention.

Conservation and archaeological experts at Durham County Council feel they are not listable because many original features have been removed.

David Townsend, head of development and building control for the council, said: "Neither have been used for their original purpose for years and have been business premises no longer required.

"They have been altered significantly and lost several original features.

"We have recommended approval of the flats and the Spar application is still going through the planning process at the moment."