Progress for Dream Big

The project to improve the social area of the church for community use is progressing! After advice received last month, we submitted updated plans for the improvement of the St Margaret’s social area and other parts of the church.

The Diocesan Advisory Committee “were very positive about the amendments to the proposal and the additional information provided”. The DAC consultations with other organisations such as Historic England and the Victorian Society has been completed, so the next stage is that we will need to publish details of the application outside the church before we get formal approval.

The main change that we included in the application is to increase the size of the toilet unit, extending it beyond the north-west door, which is now rarely used. This change will make it much easier for those using wheelchairs or walking aids to access the disabled toilet, and was strongly recommended by the DAC’s architectural advisor. There were some minor changes to which pews we will remove on the south side of the church, and we are going to have some additional purpose-built storage to keep the transept tidier. This will also allow visitors greater access to the significant historic monuments in that area. Some new pictures of what the changes will look like are on display in the church. It feels like a snail’s pace, but this month has seen genuine progress, which is very good for morale among the project team.

On the finance side, we are going to suspend Dream Big publicity for six weeks while we focus on our Give to Go Green campaign. However, donations can still be made through the Donate to Parish Expenses tab on this page, and through the white envelopes in church. We have recently received the Gift Aid refund for project donations in 2023, and this totals over £10,000 – thanks for all who have contributed that way.