TOOLKIT AND DVD WILL TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT
This Thursday will see the launch of a unique toolkit with DVD which will arm local communities with the means of transforming ancient buildings into a community asset fit for the 21st century. The kit will be launched at a Conference in Hereford on Thursday. (19th November)
“The toolkit and DVD have been produced locally for a national audience,” said Wendy Coombey, Community, Partnership and Funding Officer for the Diocese of Hereford which is hosting the Conference, “Crossing the Threshold”, in partnership with Herefordshire Council. “We have more than two hundred people (200) coming from all over the country to Point4 and they will get a taster of what’s on offer at the launch during the Conference before collecting their copy to take away.”
The DVD features people from four Herefordshire Churches who have been through a process which has transformed their buildings in a variety of ways. St Peter’s, Peterstow, has become a village hall and within a couple of months of reopening has a number of thriving groups meeting in the St Peter’s Hall in the nave of what is still the village church. In Yarpole, the temporary Community run Shop and Post Office has been built into the back of St Leonard’s Church, in a new permanent position; the official opening is in January 2010. In Peterchurch, a village in the middle of the very rural Golden Valley, the nave of the church will be headquarters of Children’s Services in that area with offices, kitchen and toilet making a very flexible space. In a unique and unprecedented move, for the first time ever, local people will have their own library branch built into the bell tower and accessed by a lift from the ground floor! The fourth church, Bridge Sollars, is still at the first stage of the process.
“The Toolkit takes others through the process that these churches have been through, to develop their Grade I listed buildings for use on a day to day basis by all members of the local community, whether church goers or not,” said Wendy Coombey. “It’s a step by step guide by people who have been through it, experienced the difficulties, the hard work, the funding applications and the joy of seeing their projects become a reality.”
The Conference, “Crossing the Threshold”, organised by the Church of England locally, is the first event a year long campaign by the Church of England nationally, aimed at wider community use of church buildings. National Speakers include Diana Evans, English Heritage Head of Policy for Church Buildings outlining English Heritage Policy on the use of church buildings and the support they are able to give; David Rayner, from the Department of Communities and Local Government, will be speaking on the national document 'Realising the Potential', highlighting the benefits of closer working partnerships between the Church and government at all levels.
The Conference “Crossing the Threshold” is on 19th November 2009 at Point4, the brand new Conference Centre at The Royal National College in Hereford. It is jointly funded by The Big Lottery, English Heritage, Church Urban Fund, Herefordshire Council, and the Diocese of Hereford.