“Here to serve: Jesus, each other and the community” Gleneagles Anglican Church Presentation of Information related to the funding requirements for a new Place of Worship 14 – 16 Farm Road Wellingborough March 2014
“Here to serve: Jesus, each other and the community” Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 Wellingborough 3 History of Gleneagles Anglican Church local area 4 Why does Gleneagles Anglican Church need a New Building? bench-marking the North-west Wellingborough development what a modern Church offers the community 5 Activities of the Church 6 Partnership of Faith and Community Churches Together in Wellingborough (CTIW) 7 Key Personnel 8 The Church Building 9 Financial Overview 10 Contact Details 11 Appendix a. detailed space requirements b. plans and elevations of new building c. design and construction cost analysis d. planning approval documentation e. statement of financial activities – year ending31st December 2013 2
“Here to serve: Jesus, each other and the community” 1 Executive Summary With major developments proposed in the north-west of Wellingborough, Gleneagles Anglican Church believes that it has much to offer the developing communities in this part of the town. Our vision is for a growing Church and that, we believe, requires an appropriate, dedicated, building. This report gives a brief history of Gleneagles Anglican Church, sets it in the context of “Churches Working Together” in Wellingborough and indicates what a modern Church, operating not just as a place for Sunday worship but also as a hub of community life, offers to the growing local community. It also illustrates the need for a dedicated church facility, the progress we have made to date and the costs that have been and will be incurred to complete the project. 2 Wellingborough Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire and is situated on the north side of the River Nene. At the date of the last census (2011) the population within the Borough of Wellingborough was 75,400 of which the town itself accounts for 49,087. The former traditional economic structure based on footwear and engineering is gradually diversifying with wholesale, logistics and service sectors providing new opportunities for employment The government has identified Wellingborough as one of several towns in Northamptonshire into which growth will be directed over the next thirty years 3 History of Gleneagles Anglican Church Gleneagles Church was established twenty-three years ago by the town centre Anglican parish of All Hallows to serve the growing community in the Gleneagles estate. The first service was held on October 28 th 1990 in Redwell Junior School. A monthly service was established which soon became a congregation which met weekly. In 2006 Gleneagles Church became an Anglican ‘Conventional District’ as a first step towards becoming a Parish in its own right. In September 2010 the Wellingborough Deanery recommended that Gleneagles should become a Parish - that process was completed on May 1st 2013. As a result Gleneagles Church is one of the newest Parishes in the Church of England. The Church was initially served by the Curate and then an Assistant Priest from All Hallows. The Church now has its own full-time Vicar, Revd Melvyn Pereira, who was instituted in September 2007. 3
“Here to serve: Jesus, each other and the community” Throughout its existence, Gleneagles Church has been serving the community to the north and north-west of Wellingborough through worship and service. The Church has met in Redwell Junior School, Barnwell Road and in the last two years other activities, including a weekly Mums and Tots group, and a monthly Café Church, have been taking place at the Gleneagles Social Club (also known as the Vicarage Farm Community Centre). Gleneagles Church has now grown to over 100 adult members and 50 children and teens. Our Sunday congregation is close to the comfortable capacity in the school hall, which is our main worship area and on a good day we are very full. Our Electoral Roll of active adult members has grown from 42 in March 2007 to 113 in March 2012. Year Electoral Roll 2000 35 2007 42 2008 56 2009 75 2010 85 2011 96 2012 113 2013 102 (sever yearly revision completed) 2014 111 We have a vision to extend the range of facilities we provide to include activities for all groups in the community (e.g. groups to serve the elderly), and to improve our existing activities and groups (which includes young people and children). Local Area Gleneagles Church, at the moment, primarily serves the Gleneagles and Vicarage Farm estate and it’s near vicinity. Church members also come from two other communities in north-west Wellingborough - Gainsborough Drive to the east of Harrowden Road and south of Niort Way / Northern Way and Redhill Grange. A few Church members come from further afield and we anticipate that a good number of people will also come from the proposed development of 3000 new homes north of Niort Way/ Northern Way in due course. 4
“Here to serve: Jesus, each other and the community” 4 Why does Gleneagles Anglican Church need a Building? Currently there is not a single Church building of any denomination in this area and only one small Church building, Hope Church, in the whole of the north of Wellingborough. As Church still plays a significant part in many people’s lives it is important for the local community that this is addressed (e.g. residents have no local community Church they can go to for Weddings, Infant Baptisms or Funerals). Technically, residents can have children baptised at Gleneagles Church, but very few parents want their children baptised in a school hall and in the last seven years we have conducted baptisms for only three families. This is in stark contrast with St Marks, our nearest neighbouring parish, where Baptisms are conducted almost weekly. Gleneagles Church has worshipped in the local primary school hall for 23 years, but the Church community has reached the capacity of the building. Currently the area served by Gleneagles Church lacks a building large enough for public worship. The lack of a suitable community building also limits the range of activities that the Church can offer to the local community. The further growth planned for the area with the proposed development to the north-west of Wellingborough of 3,000 houses will double the catchment area of Gleneagles Church. Obviously, this factor increases the need for a Church building which will also serve as a community facility in the long- term. Bench-marking the North-west Wellingborough development New Horizons, a group of planners and faith groups in Cambridgeshire, commissioned the Three Dragons planning consultancy to develop guidance on the provision of faith facilities in the Cambridgeshire part of the M11 growth zone. This study recommended: “That facility provision for faith groups should be made in all developments of 2,000 or more dwellings. This is based on a standard land provision of 0.5 hectares of free land (or its equivalent) per 3,000 homes to be used by faiths for the most appropriate type of provision. This standard should be applied on a pro rata basis to larger sites, with land allocated in either a single location or spread across multiple locations. Developments of 2,000–2,999 units would also be expected to make provision of 0.5 hectares for faith use. The rationale for the 0.5 hectare figure is based on experience at Cambourne and in Milton Keynes, which suggests that a site of less than 0.5 hectares is too small to provide adequate space to serve a growing congregation and support a range of community facilities.” What a modern Church offers the community Our aims are to: (1) establish and grow the Christian Church in Gleneagles by word and action and through worship and service, (2) significantly develop our already strong links in the community through activities and projects. 5
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