Penns Lane site planned for new church

Sutton Coldfield has been chosen as the site for the first Mormon church to be built in the country for 30 years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints known worldwide as the Mormons have submitted plans for a new temple in Penns Lane.

The Birmingham England Temple will be built on a 2.7-acre site located at 185-187 Penns Lane, near the Ramada hotel.

Plans showing the new structure call for a one-story temple of approximately 10,800 square feet, with patron housing and arrival facilities.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for 17 new temples worldwide in 2022.

The preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ began in 1837 in Britain as missionaries, including two members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, began teaching in Preston.

During the nineteenth century, more than 52,000 converts emigrated from Britain to join the main body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States in Utah. By 1870, nearly half of Utah’s population consisted of British immigrants.

The three temples in the United Kingdom include the historic London England Temple (dedicated in 1958), the Preston England Temple (dedicated in 1998) and the new Birmingham England Temple.