The Church Hall Upgrade

The St Bartholomew’s Community Hall in Penn, Wolverhampton  was built in 1913 and was originally used as an extra classroom and dining room for the St. Bartholomew’s ChurchSchool. Over the years the hall has been extensively used for the benefit of the local community.  However, it is now in need of a major refurbishment to make it “fit for purpose” in the 21^st century.  During the daytime it is in use for less than 20% of the available time. A major factor leading to this low usage is that it does not have effective insulation, is expensive to heat and light as well as to maintain and is therefore not suitable for modern day needs. To improve this facility it needs to be more accessible for older/disabled people as well as groups who work with small children such as Barts Busy Bees.Meeting rooms, performance areas, heating, lighting and catering facilities, and other such matters, all need upgrading if the building is to satisfy the growing needs within the local area.

Towards the end of 2008 the PCC formed a sub-committee to specifically look at how the hall could be upgraded to meet current and future needs. This committee undertook extensive consultation over an 18 month period with past, present and future user groups, young people, and local residents including organising open forums and requesting that questionnaires be filled in as to what the local community wanted. The Local Council have also been consulted and are very supportive, proving any changes to the appearance of the building are kept in context and are sympathetic to a conservation area. 

In response to all this consultation, an Architect has been appointed and draft plans have been drawn up showing the need to carry out the following principle work:

·         Demolition of the existing staircase area and the construction of a new “wing” (of slightly bigger size) to accommodate meeting rooms and toilets

·         Modification to the main entrance area and the construction of a new kitchen adjacent to the main hall

·         Insulation of the building and installation of modern heating and lighting systems

·         Provision of disabled access to all parts of the building including the installation of a platform lift

·         New/refurbished meeting rooms

The plans and  computer generated image of what the modified building will look like can be found in the Power Point presentation below (please note that colours are not necessarily true to life)

A copy of the Power Point presentation used in the open public meeting on 12^th September 1010 can be found by clicking here
(The file is Zipped and once downloaded can be opened and played)

What are the next stages ?

We already know that the proposals listed above will cost around £500,000. The sub-committee are actively pursuing all available options regarding grant aid funding. This is an uphill struggle given the current economic climate but efforts remain undiminished. However it is a fact that such funding bodies will usually require the sponsor to provide “match funding”. Put simply, this means that St Barts and the local community will have to fund at least £250,000.

How will we do this ?

It is too soon to be specific at this early stage, but the committee (through the PCC) will be generating fund raising ideas within the coming months.