News Story Page The Parish Centre The Story So Far ...

The Story So Far - a Road Littered with Miracles

If I had read the Parish Profile properly before I came to Blandford, I would have noticed a line which was hidden away. It said "We have an outline plan to demolish the hall and replace it with a new building to be financed from the sale of a property held by a charitable trust".

I didn't notice that bit - and arrived to find that the situation regarding the state of the Church Hall, or Parish Rooms, was a lot more serious than I could have imagined. If I had known then what road lay ahead of me, maybe, just maybe, I would have thought twice about God's call to this parish ….! The roof was leaking and so the Hall featured a number of dustbin water collectors which needed emptying on a regular basis - I remember being at a Guide Christmas Fayre, where I was aware of a regular dripping sensation on my head.

When I arrived in May 2003, I discovered that there was a court case hanging over the property which the Church owned - and wanted to sell. No sale could be agreed whilst a court case was in progress and the Trust Fund to which the proceeds would go did not mention the possibility of using them to build a Hall. Add to the fact that the old Hall was a Grade 2 Listed building (for no other reason other than because it was attached to a Grade 2 Listed wall) and we were advised that it was "highly unlikely" that planning permission would be granted for a new building … the list of potential problems grew larger and larger. The mountain in front of us seemed to get bigger the closer we got to it.

October 2003 was when the job began in earnest: two events happened around the same time to set the ball rolling. Firstly, a survey in the old hall found significant asbestos in the building and we had to shut it down with immediate effect. The other event was the settling of the court case in our favour, with an injection of funds into the newly formed "pot". Except, of course, we had to ask the Charity Commissioners to let us change the Trust Deed - but amazingly, they did without any objection. The house concerned was duly sold a few months later and suddenly, we had approaching half of the money we needed for a hall.

Planning Permission

There was still a small problem in the shape of the Planning Department of NDDC. Initial discussions showed a desire on their part that we "restore" the building. Given that an engineering company had produced a report showing that the roof and all the walls needed to be replaced, the idea of "restoration" was really a case of rebuilding an unattractive building with unusable features and trying to make it look like it did when the old tin hut had been built in the 1880s. We were told that if we agreed to such a "restoration" that we would have an easy ride and the plans would be approved without too much difficulty. If, on the other hand, we chose to go for a new building, the plans would be opposed. The PCC took the difficult decision to take the hard road and apply for planning permission for a new building. A PR campaign, including a petition of some 1700 signatures went in alongside the application to back up our belief that the community both wanted and would benefit from a new building.

Despite telling us that they had never received anything like as big a petition, NDDC turned down the application in September 2006 but with a degree of encouragement that despite the reservations of their planning department, they felt the plans could be approved with more work. After a lot of talking and negotiating, the plans went back to NDDC in May 2007 and were approved. All that was left was the small matter of finding the rest of the money and building the hall!

The HSG Begins

The Hall Steering Group was set up in March 2007 and under the Chair, Gail DelPinto, the team started work and soon found a Vision Statement which summed up the thinking of the PCC throughout, that we were "Building a Place Where Church and Community Meet". This has proved to be a wonderful vision which has helped to clarify many decisions in the months since. Working alongside our Architect, John Turnbull and with Quantity Surveyor, Jack Wiles, the tenders eventually brought Snooks as our contractors, as the plans took shape. A key factor was the desire not just to build a "Hall" but a "Parish Centre" that was accessible and resource for all members of the community, a building that was respectful of the environment and aware of the future needs of the planet to be careful with resources. The Centre has been specifically designed to reduce its environmental impact in terms of its construction and operation. It has been constructed using structured insulated panels that make the building thermally efficient and space and water heating requirements is provided by a ground source heat pump and a solar hot water panel. The building has energy efficient lighting and electrical appliances and low water consumption taps and toilet flushing as well as environmentally friendly flooring such as Bamboo.

Finding the remainder of the money to fund the building has been a tough task, but one which the Hall Steering Group and the Congregation have set about with enthusiasm and tenacity! A Gift Day in November 2007 brought well over £100,000 in Gifts and Pledges - the sort of figure we could only have dreamed of! The Talents Project in the Summer of 2009 saw us giving £10 to each of 57 individuals, couples and families - and saw over ten times the amount generated. Grants have been received from companies and groups, locally and nationally, and well over 95% of what we need is already either pledged or in hand. But we need to finish the work we have started and we need your help.

Rev Tim Storey - February 2010

- Click Here to go to Next Page...

- Click Here to go back to Centre Opening Page