January to September 2016

As mentioned in the video, we spent a lot of time producing a brief that clearly outlines our requirements for the site.  Our dream if you like.  This was produced by 10+ people who represent different areas of the life of the church and the community.  It was really important that we captured the heart of the whole church in this, and not just a few people’s ideas & aspirations.

The whole process caused us to think big, if money was no object, about all of the potential there is to build something exciting on the former Ben Shaws site.

This brief was presented to the church, alongside some ideas on how to make it happen, in May 2016.

The production of this brief led to the invitation of 7 architects in July to make design proposals and artistic impressions for the site.  This resulted in the appointment of Fibre Architects  in October 2016 to work with us on the project.  All of the trustees, leaders of the church and those involved in the production of the project brief were involved in this selection process.

fibre architects

Fibre Architects: Martin & Michael

The Houses

Also, around the same time, Gina Wescott, a member of the church, agreed to Project Manage the development of the 4 terraced houses that were included with the site, all of which have been un-occupied for at least 15 years.  Working with insightarchitects.design, the intention in the short term is to bring these in to use as student accommodation to help fund the work on the rest of the site.  The houses will be refurbished as 4 self-contained units each with 3 bedrooms, providing accommodation for a total of 12 people.  In the longer term we wish to see these used as a resource to extend the outreach of the church.  More updates on the development of the houses will follow.