Chapel could be converted to make way for Cambridgeshire village’s first shop

If approved, the shop will stock food and household items

A former chapel could be converted to make way for a village’s first shop. Baston Shop Ltd has submitted plans to Peterborough City Council to convert the former Ailsworth Chapel in Main Street into a community shop.

Ailsworth and neighbouring village Castor currently do not have a shop. The most recent shop the villages had was The Paper Shop, which closed in May 2025.

The chapel has not been used since 2022. If approved, the shop will “offer a range of food, household items and other necessities, along with a post office and laundry services”.

The shop could employ three part-time staff members. It is expected to open Mondays to Saturdays between 7am and 8pm. The applicant also seeks to build a manager’s flat at the back of the property.

The applicant added: “The vacant chapel will provide an excellent location for a community shop as it is centrally sited in Ailsworth and also offers ease of access for Castor residents.”

A planning policy referred to by the applicant said a village shop should “help achieve a more suitable rural community”. The applicant said this is “undoubtedly” the case as “private vehicle usage to access similar services would be greatly reduced by providing village shop facilities in the centre of Ailsworth”. A local survey conducted showed that residents were “overwhelmingly in support” of a new shop.

A previous application was submitted for the site to be used as home. However, the plans received objections due to concerns about parking and effects on the local area and were dismissed.

No parking is proposed on the site, and on-street parking is most likely to be used for the shop. At a pre-application stage, concerns were raised about where the bins would be located.

However, the applicant has proposed for these to be moved to the side of the building to “reduce any dominant effect on the attractive front elevation”. The applicant said the plans secure the “long-term use and revitalisation of a value community asset”.