Redevelopment of the Buildings

Between 1901 and 1987 our Church rooms had remained more or less unchanged. In 1987, within six months of the start of Peter Flint's ministry
thoughts turned as to whether we should substantially change the existing buildings or move to a new site.

In 1990 after many months of discussions it was agreed that we would renovate the existing schoolrooms to ‘alter and renew them to the benefit of all but with a special mission towards young families’. An in house design committee prepared drawings and specifications for what was to be very much a DIY scheme with professional contractors being brought in as necessary for specific tasks.

With Rev Peter Flint taking on a leading role, the Church membership were actively involved in the project. Some were able to use their professional skills in architectural design, plumbing or electrical works while others honed new skills in demolition and brick cleaning. The whole congregation was involved in various forms of fundraising and giving and this raised almost 80% of the £650,000 required. The rest came from trust funds and loans. After 5 years of hard work the newly refurbished schoolrooms were transformed to enable us to carry out our outreach work with the local community.

After a period of consolidation, in 1999 it was decided to embark upon a refurbishment programme for the Sanctuary. Once again a major fund raising effort was required and by early 2003 sufficient funds had been realised. The refurbishment work, which included the replacement of the pews with comfortable seating and the installation of tiered seating to replace the gallery was completed by autumn 2003.