A community connection
4 March 2010
Peter Aiers outlines the role of the Churches Conservation Trust and discusses how its Regeneration Taskforce is helping church buildings and their surrounding communities
Recent years have seen a significant decline in local community services, particularly in rural areas. In many cases, the pub, post office and shop have all gone - and very often the church is the last remaining public building. The church has a deeper connection to its locality, as often it is the repository for local history. It records baptisms, marriages, deaths, local landowners and personal connections to world events through war memorials, etc. Parish churches were built by and for local communities, and throughout their history they have served not only spiritual needs but many secular ones too.
When churches face closure as a place of worship, there is a need for any redevelopment to fulfil more than just the religious needs of a community, but some more earthly ones too. It is very difficult to find a suitable private use for a Grade I listed medieval church; housing and commercial uses are not easy to achieve due to the level of services and subdivision required. With a community-based use, not only does the building remain woven into the fabric of the local area, but the intervention required to enable 21st century use can be a positive addition to the story of the building. If the community has a use for the building, they will care for it.
When churches face closure as a place of worship, there is a need for them to fulfil more than just the religious needs of a community
The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) is the national charity protecting historic churches at risk. Since 1 April 1969, the Trust has saved over 340 buildings, which now attract more than 1.5m visitors annually.
Redundant churches
The 1968 Pastoral Measure allows churches which have been made redundant by the Church of England (CoE) - for which the diocese has been unable to find any alternative use and which are of exceptional historic, architectural or archaeological significance - to be 'vested' in the CCT by the Church Commissioners.
The CCT's estate is the largest single collection of historic churches in the country, ranging from virtually untouched medieval examples in idyllic rural settings, to ornately impressive Victorian churches in town centres. It includes 10 challenging inner-urban churches, which need new uses and significant funds in order to survive.
The recent investment by the Heritage Lottery Fund of £3.3m for the transformation of All Souls church in Bolton into a community centre was a significant point in the early life of the CCT's Regeneration Taskforce.
Figure 1: All Souls in Bolton, an example project focusing on the community, will include a dentist, police office, local authority office, conference centre, community meeting rooms and a social media centre (© The CCT)
Officially launched in September 2009, it is developing techniques that enable communities to sustain important local churches for their benefit. It was created in response to the changed circumstances of the CCT in the 40 years since its inception; with core funding frozen since 2001 and an ever-increasing estate (the CCT receives on average one or two new historic churches per annum), a more sustainable business model was required.
The Taskforce supports community groups seeking alternative uses for historic churches at risk, which can lead to the regeneration of urban and rural areas - and keep the church in the heart of the community.
Team effort
The Taskforce is a partnership between the CCT; English Heritage; the CoE; the Department of Culture, Media and Sport; Development Trusts Association; the Media Trust, the Prince's Regeneration Trust; the Lankelly Chase Foundation; the Rural Communities Commission and RBS Community Banking. Representatives on these organisations form the advisory group to the Taskforce, which is the first time conservation, regeneration, church and community groups have come together in this way.
[The business process] does not start with a consideration of the historic church but with an understanding the local community
There are many elements which determine if a historic church building project (whether the church is redundant or not) is successful. The CCT has worked successfully with John Sharkey and Co, which provided much-appreciated support when negotiating leases with community groups, as well as providing strategic property advice. An example of success is All Souls in Bolton, a project to create a community centre which will host a dentist, police office, local authority office, conference centre, community meeting rooms and a social media centre. A key element to its success has been the use of Alan Gardner Associates, which has led the historic building repair element, in addition to developing a ground-breaking historic building craft skills sub-project. Both of these chartered surveyor firms have understood the specific needs and challenges that face community-based projects.
The business process
To deliver the Taskforce's ambitious aims, a business process has been developed which ensures that all projects can be assessed against the same criteria, and so that the advisory group can be confident it is worth investing in the next stage. Importantly, it does not start with a consideration of the historic church but with an understanding the local community. The Community Audit has three stages:
The Community Profile
This identifies the composition of the local population, including factors such as its health, wealth, education, age and religious affiliations. It provides an objective picture of the local community and gives us the first clue as to what services might be required.
The Background Documents Review
This provides the policy background for the area, including the local authority community strategy, local development framework, local area agreement and masterplans. This is essential to understanding how the overall strategy for the area is being planned and also identifies potential opportunities or threats.
The Community Consultation
To reach as many local people as possible, an event is held at the church and made as accessible and as much fun as possible. The aim is to reach people who would never consider coming to a historic church, as well as those who are enthusiastic.
For example, at All Souls church in Halifax, the Taskforce worked in partnership with the Victorian Society to host a fun weekend. This incorporated artists, musicians, choirs, historic re-enactors, face painting, and falconry inside Gilbert Scott's finest church. Although fun, these events enable the team to question local people about their aspirations for the site, what they think they need locally and to canvass opinion on Taskforce ideas. The responses help inform the project and are useful evidence for planning permission/listed building consent, as well as for potential funders.
The Taskforce supports community groups seeking alternative uses for historic churches at risk, which can lead to regeneration
Once the Community Audit is complete, and ideas have been indentified, the process then looks at Options Development. This involves testing the ideas from the Community Audit against the adaptability of the building by undertaking a mini business-planning process. The Taskforce has developed a brief for 'assessments of significance', which indicate the relative significance of the elements of the church and also highlight gaps in our knowledge. This is a first-stage document which provides enough information to assess the options, but is not an in-depth Conservation Plan. The business planning looks at the potential market for the use, fundraising potential and risk. A decision is then taken on which, if any, of the options appears to be the most likely to succeed and the process moves on to Project Development.
Project Development
This is the production of a full business plan, designs, specifications for repair and fundraising and finally, delivery.
The success of the £4.5m project at All Souls Bolton has helped the Taskforce hone the business process, informing how we consult with local communities and improving the information that is provided in the Community Profile. The project has also improved the Taskforce's skills in relation to business planning. The experience gained has been put to good use at St Mary at the Quay in Ipswich, where the CCT is working with the mental health charity East Suffolk Mind, in order to develop a well-being centre in a medieval Grade II* listed church.
Figure 2: St Mary at the Quay in Ipswich was used by East Suffolk Mind for its annual general meeting (© East Suffolk Mind)
Using the business process, the Taskforce has also recently been successful in achieving Stage One funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for St Andrew's Old Church in Kingsbury. We have been working with the Drama Workhouse, which is seeking to use the building to deliver drama workshops to the local community. Our business process enables the difficult decisions, such as whether or not to proceed, to be made more easily, as there is consistent data, and like-for-like comparisons between projects can be made. The early understanding of the needs of the community has been essential to these decisions and in many cases this is where the project can succeed or fail.
The Regeneration Taskforce business process is a work in progress as the more projects that are delivered, the more refined it will become. Working with different partners and the considerable talents of the advisory group helps the development of the process and it is also hoped it will be useful outside the CCT in the wider heritage sector.
Further information |
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See Peter Aiers is Major Projects Manager at the Churches Conservation Trust and heads up the Regeneration Taskforce
