We are grateful to everyone who has helped us raise over £700,000 to develop the Community Hub including grant funders and individuals who have supported both Phase 1 to renovate the Church and Phase 2 to develop the new hall spaces and connect the buildings
Between October 2017 and April 2018, research was undertaken to assess the viability of the new development to ensure the Phase 2 development meets the needs of the local community. This was to avoid duplication of services in other churches and organisations and to prepare a project plan setting out our mission and vision to fundraise and apply for grant funding.
Several face-to-face meetings were held with a range of stakeholders within the church, with other churches, with non-faith organisations and potential hirers. User groups were asked how the new development could increase their activities in terms of the number of beneficiaries, the number of volunteers involved, the number of sessions/hours per week and the type of activities. There was also a small amount of web-based research and telephone conversations. Attempts were made to engage with the widest cross section of the community inside Trinity, in other churches and beyond.
This exercise proved successful in developing existing relationships and identifying and establishing new partnerships with organisations serving the most vulnerable. It also generated funds and awareness. We were able to identify potential tenants and looked at the financial viability of letting the spaces to new premises users.
Our research identified three main themes for groups of people which could be served better through the development
Older People – through Ageing Well Schemes
Teens – supporting Young Adults with a youth worker
Families – tackling social isolation, addressing loneliness, connecting families and those living alone
Did you see what a good job we made of the first phase of modernising the church space? Phase 2 of our project will enhance and develop the old church hall next door to the same standard. We want to provide modern, relevant, welcoming and usable facilities for activities for everyone throughout the week.
As well as refurbishing and renewing the building, here are the main changes which have been drawn up by our creative development team.
The consultation delivered lots of ideas for new activities