NEW flats could be built on the site of a burned out church near Birkenhead Park in Wirral.

The plans, submitted to Wirral Council, would see the old Church of Christ the King on Park Road South in Birkenhead be knocked down and replaced with a four-floor building.

An application has been put in by Park Road Developments and would create 16 self-contained apartments in this building with four being single bedroom units and 12 being two-bedrooms.

The application said: “These units are proposed to be constructed to have high energy efficient structures to minimise the running costs.

“The location of the proposed apartments is on a major road and with an excellent bus service available and the location of a train station, Birkenhead Park, in easy walking distance on the far side of the park immediately in front of the development.”

“The site is virtually opposite to Birkenhead Park which will provide ample recreation space to anyone living in the proposed units.”

Detailed plans for how the building and apartments will look have not yet been submitted as part of the application.

The Church of Christ the King was founded in 1951 and was part of a religious group called the Churches or Disciples of Christ which originally formed in the United States.

The church was last used as a Christian centre before burning down in 2009 in a serious fire. Since that time the building has continued to decline with Park Road Developments saying the current structure is not developable.

Park Road said: “It is sadly, commercially unrealistic to endeavour to restore it to its former state as a place of worship.”

An application has also been submitted to change an area of land into 20 new allotment plots near Mosslands Drive in Wallasey with access via an extended gravel path.