so how did you do? · web view1. where have you come from? 1. where have you come from? 3. where...

Handouts

Page Description1-5 Health check – millstone or springboard Some6 Pizzamat7-14 Church Buildings Audit15 Top Tips for a brief16 Route for the Journey17-18 Church Development Plan19 Engaging with the community20 Generic stakeholder map21 Blank stakeholder map22 Possible Partners23-24 Case study25 Client Team26-27 Procurement28-30 Choosing an Architect31-33 Design Team – what do they do?34-36 Find the right builder37-38 Strategic Plan for your church project39-41 RIBA – so what are the stages?42-43 Contracts44-45 Communication Plan for your church project47-50 Brave New World51 Asset Management Plan52-56 Statement of Significance Form57-64 Churchcare Guidance of Statements of Significance & Needs65-66 Why have a Statement of Needs?67-68 Risk management69-71 Multi-Media72-74 Shrinking the Footprint75-77 Acoustics78 Permissions Tree79-80 Fundraising Theology81-82 Budgeting83-87 How to raise the Money

Is Your Church aMillstone

or aSpringboard?

Take this Health Check

to test how well your

Church Building

is fitted to your

Vision

and your Ministry...

Church Buildings Council and Parish Buying

We are grateful to Nigel Walter for permission to re-use materials from the website www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk produced by him and his firm Archangel Architects to help the church make better use of its buildings to further Godʼs kingdom.

1

2

3welcome, whether that is shaking hands orgiving out books (or both)? A building without space for welcome suggests a church without space for the visitor...

a sense of openness anda warm welcome

Millstone or Springboard? 2/5Church is all about people, yet your building has a huge impact on your ministry, for better or worse. Is your building a springboard that supports and enables that ministry, or a millstone that weighs you down and holds you back? Whether your church is ancient or modern, this test will help you to be clearer on those areas that present the greatest problems, and those that already work well.We suggest that you rattle through it; first time you should be able to do this in 5-10 minutes. Think in terms of how a new visitor would relate toyour church building, and grade each of the 10 questions from 0 (millstone) to 7 (springboard). This is intended to be fun - treat it lightheartedly- and then if it has provoked any thoughts come back to those and reflect on them.

afterwards our buildings shape us ʻWe shape our buildings, and afterwar ds

our buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill

1Open For Business? Accessible?Does your building appear to be open? As you We think of this in termsapproach it or pass by it, is it obvious that of disabled ramps andsomething (interesting) is going on? Can you see powered doors, andinto the building? these are important. But

2in a wider sense0 might be a building with no visible doors accessibility is about having a(‘Round the back!’), or with 3 doors visible low ‘threshold of engagement’,but all closed. For 7 think of a well- both physical and figurative.designed retail frontage which succeeds in Does the building feel easy tofirstly whetting your appetite, and secondly come into (and also to leave); doin drawing you in. I feel as though I will be trapped

if I go through those doors? Isthere enough that is familiar?

What is the ‘body language’ ofyour building? - 0 would be atight-lipped frown, with crossedarms; 7 would be a warm smilingface, an openstance, interest inthe other person.Who would you

3 doors and no obvious way in...rather talk to?

Welcoming?Once inside the front door is there enoughspace to manage the process of generous 0-7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

millstone springboard

4Navigable?

3/5

If we do not know where to go we feel stupid. Navigable buildings make it obvious where to go, without lots of signage, and without forcing people to ask. Is it clear where the toilets are, or where to takechildren for Sunday school?

0-7

For 0 think of a badly designed sprawling hospital, all signage and no direction; for 7 think of a building that you don’t have to

5Comfortable?

think about, that just unfolds.

If I spend an hour in your church will I come out frozen? Will my bottom be numb? Will my back ache? If so, then you are asking a great deal of the first time visitor, who is likely therefore to be the one-time visitor. This is not aboutmaking churches into oversized domestic living rooms, but a high level of discomfort creates a barrier that will usually prevent newcomers from engaging with your ministry.

0-7At 0 the discomfort that I feel means the building prevents me engaging with you; at 7 the building doesn’t get in the way, and I will be more ready to be open to what is on offer.

6Visible?Can I see what is going on? Are the sightlines clear - how many seats are unable to see the speaker or reader?Is the space light enough, both in terms of natural light and artificial light? Is there too much light - do we have a problem with glare? Can we adjust thelevels of light to create different 0-7 moods?0: ʻWhatʼs going on? - Iʼve lost interest; 7: I can see all that Ineed to.

8Serviceable?

7Audible?

church.

Can we hear what is going on? What about those who are hard of hearing - do you have a hearing loop that works? If you use a traditional organ,where is it located? If you have a sound system, is this optimised for your various needs - there are very differentrequirements for the spoken 0-7 word, for singing, for a band.0: ‘What was that?’ 7: Loud and clear!

Is there adequate provision of WCs & would you want to use them? Is the kitchen up to the tasks you expect of it - this could be catering for 150 hot meals on a weekday, or more modestly providing teas an coffees after aSunday service. Do you have enough storage, is it 0-7 usable, and is it in right places? Like it or not,inadequate provision of services will limit the usefulness of your building, and thus the life within it. 0: unserviced; 7: ample provision.

3

Note that there is no single ideal for what a church should

function - each will be different to reflect your priorities in ministry in your particular place. On some issues there may be little that you can do, but we have never found achurch where it is impossible tomake alterations for the better. Often small incrementalchanges will have a significant impact on the life of your

look like, or how it

9Quality?Is the quality of the buildingappropriate for your setting. Is it in good decorative order? Lots of Christians see a hair-shirted virtue indown-at-heel buildings that are poorly maintained, but bluntly this is usually an excuse for a lack of care. And those who come to us in need will see that lack of care and draw conclusions from it...

10Flexible?

4/5

Can the building accommodate more than one activity? How easy is it to move from one format to another? Can you the building

change to accommodate different numbers of people? Can you create intimacy? If you need to, can you clear part of the space of seating; if so, do your seats stack - 2 high, 10 high, 40 high?

flexible space for multifunctional use...

7 Audible? 4 Navigable?

6 Visible? 5 Comfortable?

4

Millstone or Springboard?So How Did You Do?Firstly plot your results on the circular graph below- by joining the dots you create a ʻspider diagramʼ. This shows particular areas of strength and weakness, and therefore whether your building is in overall balance.

10 Flexible? 7 1 Open?6

5

9 Quality? 4 2 Accessible?3

2

1

08 Serviceable? 3 Welcoming?

0: we do not care about our 0-7physical environment; 7:quality that speaks of engagedcompassion.

0: one rigid predetermined 0-7layout, but we have a need formore; 7: we have all theflexibility we need.

Total out of 70

1 Open?

2 Accessible?3

2

1

08 Serviceable? after

3 Welcoming?

7 Audible? 4 Navigable?before

New Zion Christian Fellowship, beforethe project & after... 6 Visible? 5 Comfortable?

on Christian Fellowship

5

5/5

Looking at the individual areas, scores of 5-7 mean the building is already functioning well in that area; there may be room for improvement but there are probably more pressing needs. On the other hand, 0-2s mean you have significant, perhaps urgent, issues in that area.Secondly, add the individual scores and enter the total in the box; this gives you an average for the building as a whole. Above 45 and your building will be a good fit for your ministry - you have a Springboard; below 25 and your building will be a significant constraint on the life of the church - you have a Millstone.

A Worked Example:Here is a ʻspiderdiagramʼ for a recently completed church project. Thedark red line shows the churchʼs assessment of their strengths and weaknesses beforehand; the green line shows their scores after the alterations.Improvements have been made in every dimension, and the church are delighted with the result.

Millstoneor Springboard?

What Next?Why not share this with others - inevitably your answers will to some extent reflect your personal views, your likes and dislikes, so it isgood to get as many people as possible to complete it.

10 Flexible? 7

6

5

9 Quality? 4

Church Buildings Council and Parish BuyingWe are grateful to Nigel Walter for permission to re-use materials from the website www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk produced by him and his firm Archangel Architects to help the church make better use of its buildings to further Godʼs

says on the tin. Includesappendices with

a substantial reordering or contemplating a new

struggling to maintain a historic building, consideringmissionʼ it does what

re-ordering churchbuildings for worship

and suggests practical means of forging a better

principles of what is a key relationship for any churchʻThe definitive guide

Re-Pitching the Tent, by

of God, by Nigel Walter. This booklet examines The Gate of Heaven - How Church Buildings

Other ResourcesChurch Building Seminars - from time to time we help organise regional seminars for

Where To Next...?How do you move on from here? The point of this stage was to get all of the issues out onto the table- if possible into the middle space on this sheet. Out of this you can develop a formal Brief, which defines the key questions you want answered - an architect can help you to refine and improve this.

With a Brief defined, you may then commission a Feasibility Study, which would look at whether the vision can be achieved within the

How To Use ThisPrint this out at A3 for use by a small group - the central section can then be copied at A4 if needed. Or contact us and we will happily print this for you at A1 size for putting up in the wall, or for a larger round table discussion.

Start Here...This sheet provides a playful way of grappling with some of the serious issues that need to be considered before launching into a building project - the things you need to think about before you appoint an architect and other professionals.

The aim is to achieve at the outset the clarity you will need for a successful outcome. How you use this sheet does not matter - the key thing is to focus on the important issues, so that you can define the problem you want to address.

So use this sheet in whatever way suits

Church Building Projects -Where to Begin...?

afterʻWweasrhdapse o

ouurrbubiludiinlgdsi,nangdsafstehrwaapr

des usour buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill

... scribble away!

Other ResourcesChurch Building Seminars - from time to time we help organise regional seminars for

Church Buildings Audit 1305 1/8

Here’s the church

Here’s the

steeple

Open the doors

But whereare the people ...?

Put your Church at the centreof your

community

Church Buildings Auditwww.churchbuild.co.uk

Church Buildings Audit 2/

www.churchbuild.co.

Structure of the Audit:Where have you come from?Talkative buildingsHow would you describe your building’s character?Engaging with your storyWhere are you now?How does the worshipping community express its faith today?How does the wider community see the church?How do you believe the church should be used?Where are you heading?Dreaming the future...Three key principles for delivering changeConclusion

Welcome to the Church Buildings AuditChurches are increasingly rethinking their worship and the buildings in which that worship takes place. New patterns of worship make us increasingly aware of the conflict between what the building proclaims both in its external appearance and its internal arrangement, and what the worshipping community believe and wish to express; sadly, many of our churches are suitable only for Victorian worship.

If a church discussing these issues is to move beyond an expression of personal 'likes' and 'dislikes', then it is important to have a tried and tested process for making good decisions. That process needs to balance changing uses with continuity of purpose, and to provide criteria for the development and re-ordering of churches that look beyond the merely utilitarian questions of function to what a church building really is.

That’s what this audit aims to provide. We have written this material for use in small groups, with each session providing sufficient material for an evening of discussion, but you may find other means of using it, perhaps in other settings - we would be keen to hear. The issues you will discuss are serious and important, but we hope the process of discussing them will be exciting and enjoyable - please make that process fun!

We have created this resource to be used, and are very happy for it to be copied and circulated, provided the content is not altered and the authors are credited. We would be pleased to receive feedback on its usefulness and any suggestions you may have for improving it.

We hope this Audit will be of relevance to a wide range of churches across the denominations.Where we have had to choose, the terminology used is from the Church of England (eg ‘PCC’); if you are from another tradition we hope you will not feel excluded and will be able to do the necessary translation.

David Stancliffe is the former Bishop of Salisbury and the author of The Lion Companion to Church Architecture (2008); in the early 1990s he oversaw the reordering of Portsmouth Cathedral.

Nigel Walter is an architect based in Cambridge with a specialism in the church sector. He is the author of The Gate of Heaven - how churchbuildings speak of God (Grove Books, 2011) and blogs at churchbuild.co.uk.

The authors can be contacted via [email protected]

1. Where have you come


www.churchbuild.co.

1. Where have you come from?a) Talkative buildings

Your church building is talking all the time, but what is it actually saying?

1. About its history?

2. About the community for which it was built and those communities that have made adaptations since?

3. About the purpose for which

Go away !

No-one cares for me... or for you

Did she really just say that?

I’m talking all the time......but do you like

what I’m saying?

You’re not welcome

God’s gone fishing

it was built and the reasons for any change?

What is your Church saying?

4. About its purpose today - how do you use it now?

5. Is it cared for? And therefore will I be cared for?

What does that teach us about the relationship between

• God (theology)?• worship (liturgy)?• the community (social history)?

Does the building suggest that God is absent, worship irrelevant and the community excluded? Or does it speak instead of relevance and the integration of God, worship and community?

b) How would you describe your building’s character?

1. What are the general characteristics of the building - large, small, cold, homely, spacious, light, cluttered, dark, tidy ... ? What are the shapes of the 'rooms'? What spaces and levels? Can you see what is going on?

2. Furniture and fittings - do they help or hinder? Are they in the right place? Could some be discarded or used elsewhere? Which should be retained?


www.churchbuild.co.

Resources:What Can Churches Learn from their Past by Neil Evans and John Maiden (Grove Books, Pastoral series, P131)The Lion Companion to Church Architecture by David Stancliffe (Lion, 2008)

Activity: Dig into the past and find something relevant to the present & future.

1. Where have you come

3. Lighting and acoustics - are the lights in the right place? Can they be used to highlight a particular part of the service or building? Can the units be controlled flexibly and independently? Can you hear clearly? For the spoken word, and for music?

4. Heating and access - Can you get into the building and move about in it safely, or is it just an auditorium? Is it adequately warm? Does the heating restrict movement or clutter the space?

c) Engaging with your story

We understand the world in terms of story. But have you ever stopped to think about your community’s story? Has the building always been like this (very unlikely) or has it changed over the years? Who has been associated with the building in the past, what do we know about their lives, and how does that relate to the Christian story?

God invites us to be a part of his story in our particular place. Understanding that narrative is really important - it enriches the present by uncovering our past and opening up our future. Church buildings are a physical representation of that narrative, and like that narrative, they help to form our character and root us within our tradition.

Remember, tradition needn’t be dry and boring! Tradition can help us understand where we’ve come from and what God is calling us to be. Tradition can be radical!

Get help! There may be other people interested in your building who would be keen to help, such as a local history society. www.churchplansonline.org might have drawings, if the church was changed by the Victorians. And you could try the county archive.


www.churchbuild.co.

2. Where are you now?2. Where are you now?

a) How does the worshipping community express its faith today?

'Any person or body carrying out functions of care and conservation under this Measure or under any other enactment or rule of law relating to churches shall have due regard to the role of a church as a local centre of worship and mission.' Care of Churches Measure (1991)

1. How does the PCC understand its 'worship and mission?

2. What models of being the church do you resonate with?

• The house of God• The house of the People of God• The gate of heaven• The Body of Christ• The People of God• A Temple of the Spirit• A sign of the Kingdom• Pilgrims on the Paschal Journey• Something else...

3. Has the PCC considered how their preferred model(s) of the church can be proclaimed and expressed in its worship?

4. What should the church be proclaiming about its nature and mission by its liturgy and the arrangement of furniture and fittings, with special regard to:

• Corporate worship and the Eucharist• Proclamation of and reflection on the Word of God?• The relationship of the members of the community to one another?


www.churchbuild.co.

Resources:The Gate of Heaven - how church buildings speak of God by Nigel Walter (Grove Books, Spirituality Series, S118)The Community Planning Event Manual by Nick Wates (Earthscan, 2008)

Activity: Put down your honest thoughts about the status quo. What would it take for this to improve?

2. Where are you now?

• Personal commitment and initiation, especially the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation?

• Personal growth and the spiritual life?• The church's ministry in relation to the community?

b) How does the wider community see the church?

Where is the centre of your community?

Is the church seen to be at the centre, or on the outer edges? Have you asked the community what they think?

To outsiders, does the church demand that you belong before you’re ‘allowed’ to enter?

Or is the church so active in its community that it makes the place tick?

c) How do you believe the church should be used?1. Liturgical

a) Sunday worship, of a variety of kindsb) Weekday worshipc) the Pastoral Offices, eg weddings,

funeralsd) Special services and eventse) Personal prayer (how is it to be kept

open?)

2. Educationala) Workshops, lectures and discussion

groupsb) Drama and music - plays and

concertsc) Art displays and exhibitionsd) A place to discover local history

3. Communitya) as a community gathering space,

Parish hall or meeting roomb) as a Day Centre, for a Lunch Club or

other social activityc) for a Library, reading room, Post

Office, cashpoint or charity shopd) for casual visitors - what tourist /

cycling / rambling routes are you on?

3. Where are you


www.churchbuild.co.

3. Where are you heading?a) Dreaming the future...

1. Bearing in mind all that you have discussed together, in what ways is the present building a help or hindrance to your worship and the Church's mission in the community?

2. Think of consulting the Diocesan Advisory Committee or similar body about your worship or building. Consider arranging a Study Day or a visit to another church.

3. Make a large plan of the church, showing all the attached buildingslike vestries and halls, removing all the furnishings and fittings, so that you can see what the spaces are and how they interrelate. Think of a large service with lots of visitors, and a small weekday service, and think about the different ways the space would be used:

• How are people welcomed? Are visitors ‘ambushed’ with information, or can they find their own way?

• Is the action visible? Can the congregation move, or use different parts of the church at different stages? Where will they sit, for which part(s) of the service, and on what? Check lighting as well as sightlines.

• How is the music led, and accompanied, and by whom and on what?• Where will the children be, and for which parts of the service?• How easy is the building to navigate? Can the visitor find the toilet, or the meeting

room?• Consider other Sunday activities - socialising, teaching, study or prayer groups, the

ministry of healing - in relationship to what you have put on the plan.

b) Three key principles for delivering change:

• Narrative: Understand your (plural) story.• Vision: Understand what you believe God is calling you to be; why should I believe

in (and give to) this?• Delegation: Get organised - Who is going to be responsible for what?


www.churchbuild.co.

Some architectural/liturgical principles to guide youChurches are different from our homes - avoid the soft furnishings, potted plants etcAll design, including movable fittings, altar ornaments, vestments, etc should be related to the overall plan of the building and its architectural character.Churches are not furniture stores, and should be kept uncluttered; try to dispose of at least as much furniture as you might add (following the appropriate processes).Architectural, liturgical and social needs should be allowed to interact, eg the position of the Font and Altar, but then priorities must be chosen and the reasons made explicit.Churches are often made up of different interconnecting ‘rooms’. Use different spaces for distinct functions: lighting can create spaces as can changes in floor texture.Aim for as much open space as possible, flexibility as regards seating and emphasis on the fixed points of key liturgical and mission significance, eg Font, Bible and Altar.

Resources:Re-Pitching the Tent - The definitive guide to re-ordering church buildings for worship and mission’ by Richard Giles (Canterbury, 2007)Prayer...

Activity: Dream your future as described above, and then summarise your main conclusions in bullet points...

...‘and here are the people!’

3. Where are you

c) Conclusion

Only when you have thought through these issues will you be in a position to begin to brief your architect. This process should result in lots of discussion and ideas, but it is helpful if you can summarise your main conclusions in written form - brief bullet points is probably best.By following this process we believe you will make wiser and creative decisions and arrive at an overall plan that is an expression of your ministry, rather than responding to individual issues in an incoherent and piecemeal fashion. Once you have that overall plan, you can then choose how it is to be implemented.

1

Some Top Tips for a brief

Aim to describe your need, not focus on imagined solutions

Think about the activities you want to accommodate, approximate numbers, and which activities need access to which other facilities

Once you have a list of activities, think about which of these activities needs a dedicated space, and which can share. Then think again and press yourselves on this!

For example, if your vision includes providing weekday childcare, do you want this to operate from dedicated space, or can other groups use the space in the evenings and/or weekends? Similarly, if you want to create a semi-commercial cafe, will other building users be able to use the kitchen out of hours?

You don’t have to have decided everything! It is perfectly fine to say ‘At this stage we are unclear whether the kitchen should be usable out of hours’ – the important thing is to make sure the issue is out on the table

Distinguish, if you can, between present patterns of activity, and what you want to create. This particularly affects churches that have a building they are looking to change. People often assume they need to replicate all the spaces they currently have, and then add on top of that

What we all fail to grasp adequately is how much our current patterns of activity are formed by the physical pattern of our buildings. An ‘existing plus 50%’ model tends to result in wasteful and potentially unaffordable building projects

It is fine and often useful to provide supporting documents to help your architect understand your thinking and what is important to you. What is not helpful is to provide reams and reams of undigested wish-lists

Expect your architect to challenge and question what you have put down – and if they’re not doing so you are they the right people for the job? Design development is a creativeconversation, and an outsider’s view can be really helpful in clarifying what it is that you really need

Don’t be surprised, therefore, if your brief is refined and changes, but ensure that any change you make moves the brief closer to addressing your overall purpose, as discussed in earlier

Think about how you might sum the project up in a single sentence. You could put this in terms such as ‘The most important thing about this project is…’ This can be a great group exercise

Compromise has become something of a dirty word – we often see it as failure, as a necessary evil, the worst of all worlds. Perhaps we need a different word, because compromise can be creative, and when a church is functioning well it can offer the world a model of a community creating a better result than any individual could have got to on their own. Compromise can be radical! And that process starts with a good brief.

With acknowledgements to Nigel Walter and Jim Hammett, this top tips document is taken from their website www.churchbuildingproject.co.uk

Ω

Plan the official opening date well past the date that the building should be finished.

• Recruit and training plan for new staff as applicable.• Run preparation and training days.

• Set expectations of congregation as to how the building may be used differently from the past.

• Financial models to be monitored and adjusted regularly.

IRIBA stages • Appoint builder • Timelines from

builders / architect• 'Open days' for congregation to view progress

H How will you regularly and appropriately communicate to all the 'stakeholders'?

G Consultation phases: Archdeacon, DAC, CBC, other bodies Formal permissions: Faculty, Planning,

Building, Other consents

F • Develop design: Plans, elevations, sections, site plans, survey reports

EFinancial aspects of strategic plan • Monthly monitoring • 'Internal' and 'external' elements • Run capital appeal and pledge days • Applications to trusts/ corporates •

Consider borrowing

D • Appoint part time or client representative to serve the church

• Short list, interview & appoint architect • Approach fundraiser for help/advice • Appoint part time support for

C • Strategic Plan: Timelines and budgets for: • Community surveys/research • Obtaining land (if applicable)•

Fundraising • Congregational input • Build

B Will your current governance structure work for the building? Will your volunteer / lay structure provide enough

appropriately skilled and time rich people? • Develop a‐ Building Group / Committee • Develop terms of reference for

that group • Appoint chair and/or employer’s agent

AEstablish theology and purpose of the project • Survey the community to ascertain their need • Engage with agencies/

community in the area (health, police, social services...). What are their priorities? • Understand your story to date; develop a mission statement. Ask teams to visit new builds

• Finalise the aims of the building

Route for the journeyWith acknowledgements to Nigel Walter and Jim Hammett for their Project Route Map from which this is derived.

Task Tools

Establish your church vision and then the aims

of your project

All church participants and leadership: Appoint someone to research/interview

key people • Agree statement among church congregation.

Establish robust structures to deliver the whole project. Make key

appointments.

• Church leadership and key volunteers / lay people. • Define roles and recruit a group of say 5 8 people‐ to

form your Building Group

Develop detailed timelines and budgets

for the project

Appoint and manage the professional support you

will need

• Congregation • Leadership / Building Group / solicitors • Fundraiser •

Architect (if appointed eg for ‐feasibility study)

• Leadership • Building Group • Architect

Develop the fundraising strategy and implement

to achieve goal

Project treasurer Communications person

Fundraiser

Develop a design through an iterative

process

Obtain the necessary permissions

Keep momentum for the project going

• Building Group • Architect and other professionals • Builder • Communications person

• Building group • Archdeacon • DAC Secretary • Architect

Communications person

Build the building

• Building Group • Architect and other professionals • Builder • Communications person

Open the building

• Communications person• Building management group will ‐‐this be a different group from the original

group?• Overall 'site manager'?

• Church leadership setting the tone/ culture of

the new building • Treasurer

People

Guidance note Church Development Plan

A Church Development Plan (CDP) is a new tool from the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division. It aims to help churches become open and sustainable community buildings.

The CDP can be broken down into three stages:

1. Local Audit

Scoping the perceived needs (in a draft Statement of Need) against what exists locally in term of resources including gaps in provision.

This involves talking to potential users/partners and the wider community, to recruit strategic partners and support. It will identify the “drivers” of change (Mission, Community, Commercial, Cultural) and all appropriate legal models.

For some larger churches, this will be the time to begin compiling a Conservation Management Plan.

2.An Options Appraisal

Deciding how best to satisfy the identified needs given the constraints and potential of the building or site.

This stage includes the production of a draft Statement of Significance (if one doesn’t already exist) and a feasibility study of the options, drawing on the information provided by the Audit and developing ideas for how the church might be used.

Pre-application discussions with curatorial bodies should also be initiated at this stage.

3.The Delivery Phase

Drawing together the information gathered in stages 1 and 2 and developing the chosen option.

This stage includes the creation of a timetable and fund-raising strategy alongside a brief for the tendering process.

Having scoped the needs and the resources and partners needed to satisfy them, this is the point when the Statements (and CMP if it exists) can be finalised, ready for the Faculty application.

What is a Church Development Plan for?

There is a growing awareness that our church buildings can be reinvigorated as local assets, as well as places of worship, reaching out to and serving the entire community.

This might be through the delivery of services like shops, Post Offices and crèches, or it could involve the church providing a concert venue, tourism hub or simply a space for people to meet.

The first step towards change is often the most difficult - raising funds and securing permissions can be seen as insurmountable hurdles.

A CDP can help churches to identify strengths and weaknesses, learn from the successes of others and plan strategically to achieve their ambitions for the building.

What will it achieve?

A CDP will help you to think about your project rationally, working through a distinct 3-step process (see above) to consider:

1. What you have;

2.What you need;

3.Who you can work with.

You will be well placed to achieve the permissions and funding you need to realise the potential of your church building through a process which helps you to:

Analyse your resources

Develop partnerships and create networks

Produce a plan of action and a timetable for delivery.

Want to find out more?

To learn more about the Church of England’s plans to ensure all churches are open and sustainable community spaces please visit ChurchCare.co.uk and click on:

‘Open and Sustainable’.

www.churchcare.co.uk/chur ches/open-sustainable

If you have specific enquiries about the CDP process or anything else mentioned above then please email:

catherine.townsend@ch urchof england.org

August 2014

Engaging with the community

Check out the ‘social atlas’ in your area online – see links on slide inthe presentation - Closer to Home

www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk – Office for National Statistics

www.locality.org.uk - national network of community-led organisations

http://arcg.is/2jg2x8J with Church of England parishes and social

deprivation information

Your local Council will also have similar data

Ask the congregation to carry out a door to door community survey (see

handout for a template, courtesy of churchbuildingsprojects.co.uk,

together with instruction sheet for canvassers). A survey like this will

engage your church in the process of understanding what people need

help with.

http://www.parishresources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/FG-5-

Template-Community-Audit-Survey.docx

Run community events and get feedback

From your current community activities survey those that come

along

Arrange to meet and ask social services, schools, local health

proofessionals, the Police, local Councillors and your MP

Are there any schools in your area? What links, formal or informal, do

youohave with them?

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Stakeholder map: Design your ownHow will each group be involved or informed about the project?

Local Schools

Health centres

20

PoliceM

Local

Decision makersProfessionals eg

Parish

Sure Start or similar Counselling

agencies CAB,

Influencers

Local childcare

Inter agency groups

Local residen

Parish Counci

Land ownerOther local

Building

DenominationLocal shops/traders Cafes, post offices etc...

Church Membe

Planning

Local Residents associations

Faith agencies for advice

Church Attendee

Church Leadership

Local activity providers

Local Councillo

Localservice

Social Servic

Local compani

Others

Your church s stakeholder map

Decision makers

Influencers

Others21

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Possible Partners

In many areas of the country, particularly in areas of population growth, there is a shortage of pre-school childcare. Some churches provide this themselves, while others allow an outside business to operate from the building; either way you get the significant benefit of footfall of parents and carers to

the building during the day. Childcare can work very well with a cafe. Don’t be surprised if the community fails to distinguish between church and non-church users in the building…

It is unlikely you will be providing space for outside operators such as Costa or Starbucks; for a discussion of other options on this spectrum see section on Cafés in churchbuildingprojects.co.uk, or the handout on St George’s Holborn, or churchcare.co.uk.

:Depending on the nature of your area, other community facilities such as a local library or healthcare outreach can work well. The key here is to work with your Local Authority / Healthcare Trust to understand where the areas of need are. There are a number of rural examples in historic churches, for example in Hereford Diocese.

In rural areas where the post office has closed there may be an appetite within the area to run a community shop – StLeonard’s in Yarpole, again in Hereford Diocese, is one example.

For many people it is a lack of training that prevents them from playing an active part in society, so training provision can fit well with a church’s mission aims.Again, the key is to understand where the local need lies. This might be computer training for the young or for the old; it might be catering training; it might be training for those with disabilities; it might be coaching for employment.

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St George’s HolbornSt George’s Holborn, in the diocese of London, had long had the vision to reach out more constructively to its local community. The church knew that its location and the asset ofits building could be crucial in this. It was a wonderful

opportunity, which the church has been able to seize. The solution: a café.

St George’s is a medium- sized church, with an electoral roll of 150, and is in the Midtown area of London, between the West End and the City.

A number of years ago, a project to screen off the main body of the church, with full glass partitions and doors, was completed. This – major – expenditure was a great starting point, yielding a large rectangular space, free of fixed furniture,

with a huge window into the church.

Andrew Chrystal, the operations director, has extensive

professional expertise in the café business. He identified the potential of this glassed-off area both to generate income and to open up the church building all day for mission.

If the church offered this space as a café, properly

equipped and furnished, he reasoned, it would attract people into the church, and de-mystify it by creating a connection. The church was on a street with good footfall and restaurants, but no café in the immediate vicinity. Meeting spaces were difficult to come by for small businesses. And of the cafés nearby, all had a common problem – they had very little space for parents with buggies, or for larger groups.

But to convince the PCC to take the plunge and make an investment, it was necessary to come up with a model which limited risk for the PCC.

Crispin Burdett,who combines

being churchwarden and treasurer for St George’s, brought in his financial modelling expertise. Combining this with Andrew’s knowledge of cafés, they decided that simply being another competing business increased the risk of the venture and so, instead,

formed an agreement with a local café, Tuttis, who supply the staff and ingredients at cost, and share profits with the PCC’s company, formed for the purpose. The cost of fitting out the area was kept low through careful design and procurement, using pro bono skills where possible (eg graphic design). The cost?£25,000.

If you are interested for your church:

Not many churches will have the same level of expertise and experience in- house, but it may be possibleto provide some help through guidance notes, business models and training days.

The location of St Georges appears particularly beneficial but, as Andrew noted, other places will present alternative opportunities. The key thing is to know your local area and how it serves as a market.

The PCC was able and willing to raise the capital (probably reassured by the in-house expertise); but with good advice and case-by-case planning, organisations may be prepared to put up interest- free loans or grants.

The space for the café wasalready separated from the main body of the church at St George’s. In the context of a highly-listed church building, providing a separate area can be a major (and costly) project in its own right. However, similar visual, if not acoustic, separation can be achieved by appropriately designed moveable screens.

The relationship with Tuttis – the local café - is unique to St George's, but the idea of forming partnerships with established businesses in the local community could take many forms and may well be applicable in other locations, particularly where there is a

win-win model.

If you’d like to hear more about the St George’s project, please contact Andrew Chrystal. 24

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The Client Team

Chair person – coordinating the meetings and overseeing the elements of the project. Reporting to the church leadership.

Finance and fundraising – someone who will oversee the finances and fundraising and work alongside the church treasurer.

Communications – this is a vital role to ensure that people on your ‘stakeholder map’ (see handouts) are kept in regular contact with the project, from local dignatories to church members, from the local media to local residents. This therefore needs to be someone who has experience of writing press releases, web blogs, speaking at meetings, writing materials to present to the church family, etc.

Prayer and mission - to keep a prayerful focus on the mission of the church is not always easy during all stages of such a project, but it helps if someone takes on this role within the group

Employers’ Agent – someone who dedicates on average a day a week to the project – the dedicated link with the architect, dealing with day to day matters. Possibly someone who is employed by the church for 2-3 years to see through the project. They will need to have some knowledge of building processes.

Community – a person who develops the ‘stakeholder map’, organises community surveys, keeps an ear to the ground with regards planning permission objections, develops links to a residents association where applicable, etc.

Administrator – takes the minutes, puts together papers and spreadsheets where needed. This may also be the same person who acts as Project Manager (see handout on Design Team), but this could be a separate person.

It is helpful to write down what is involved in each role, and the time expected to take for each person. That ‘role description’ will help clarify what the expectations are and avoid confusion. Encourage people to see their time on the group as a commitment of at least 3 years, so you get some continuity.

Generally it is better not to have the vicar on this group but to copy them in to the minutes– after all, they have all the normal activity of the church to run through the life of the project.

Ensure people in the church know who is on your Building Group and give them a profile, so that members of the congregation know who to talk to about issues relating to the project.

Procuremen

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Of course, good procurement is part of good stewardship. Making good use of the resources at our disposal is an essential part of being good stewards.

But funnily enough that isn’t about the buying or pricing or getting proposal. The first step is about defining what you need.

Scoping

Really, really, need. And that means going back to purpose. In a building project as in many others, it is getting clarity of purpose or objective or mission that is the essential foundation of good procurement. Defining need is sometimes called defining scope or just scoping.

It is then much easier (even though it sometimes seems a bit of a shame) to decide later whether something is ‘out of scope’ (project-speak for ‘unnecessary’ or‘superfluous’). Good stewardship starts with defining the scope in a way which makes that discipline possible.

But scoping is not a cold exercise, it also, crucially, includes the qualities of the good or service which is being sought.

Scoping people

To get to a design, even if you are going to produce it in-house, the same steps are required to define the need, the scope of the services you need or think you need, from people. In a building project there are several important people but the architect is a crucial one. You want to have someone who looks at your need and comes up with a solution – a design. So you want more than a set of drawings and a specification, you want a trusted team-member, a consultant, an adviser, a presenter, with suitable skills and experience.

Shortlisting

Once you have agreed that scope it becomes much easier to make a search for people, and go through a process of shortlisting, using the criteria you have defined in the scope, before inviting to the next stage.

Tendering

For people: the scope also provides the basis for the potential supplier to tender for work. They can respond to this scope document in making a presentation. This may take the form of a structured interview, with presentation, and proposals on pricing.

For works: this will be a much more formal process, against an ITT (invitation to tender) and detailed works specification.

Procuremen

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Where projects are funded more than 50% from public funds (lottery or other public money) then they may be subject to an OJEU tendering process. Small lots - £62,842. Works - £785,530. If you or your architect are unsure about this then could consider using Parish Buying to advise or even to run a procurement tender for you.

Contracting

The nature of the contract will vary according to the services or works provided, and the degree of definition you can bring to the task. This is dealt with in a bit more detail below.

Choosing an

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What Are You Shopping For?

The architect is usually your first professional appointment. Aside from the obvious work of designing the building, the Architect has an important role in helping the client define their brief, in providing the church with the means to spread their vision for the project, and to advise on the appointment of the professional team.

Being clear about what you are buying is crucial, and primarily that is not a technical service but a pivotal strategic relationship through and around which the rest of the project will revolve. The core skill of an architect – the technical part of designing a building and translating that design for a builder to build – should be a given. Once you are satisfied that your shortlist is technically competent, what you are really trying to decide is what each of these people would be like to work with. Trust and personality fit are very important. You should think of your Architect as your ‘critical friend’.

ExperienceIt takes a long time to become a competent architect, because the role involves such a broad range of skills. The ideal is to find someone who has been practising long enough to anticipate the pitfalls on the journey, while being young enough (or young enough of mind) to bring energy and imagination to the design. It is certainly good to ask to see examples of similar work, but the danger here is that you will get a ‘Blue Peter’ solution (‘Here’s one I prepared earlier’); for that reason, a designer’s best building is sometimes the first one they do of that type. Think too about the type of project – new buildings are relatively simple (!) and have much in common across building types, but if your church is a historic one then you most definitely need a designer who respects old buildings and is skilled in combining old and new.

Size MattersArchitects’ practices come in many shapes and sizes, with lots of architects working on their own or with one or two others. At this end of the profession an individual may well have the skills to take on large projects, but you need to understand how available they will be, and what happens if they fall ill. With larger practices (say over 12) it is not uncommon to ‘buy’ the partner or director at interview, only to find all your dealings are with the office junior. Practices of 3-12 often combine the best of both worlds, the benefits of larger practice with the approachability of small practice – ‘big enough to cope, small enough to care’.

Don’t be afraid to ask how each practice is structured, who reports to whom etc, because that feeds through into who you end up dealing with and how. The other related issues are what the purpose and vision and mission of each practice is (a look of stunned surprise?), and even what the succession plan is – it is important that you can be confident that the practice you buy into now will still be around in 5-10 years’ time, because your project is likely to take that long to come to fruition.

CostYou need to understand the costs, but do not make this the sole criterion for selection. Why? Because you should not underestimate the power of design, whether good or bad – the potential value created (or missed out on) far exceeds the cost paid in fees. You should therefore look at value, not just cost.


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Choosing an Ask about how different parts of the service are charged for. It is common for architects to use a percentage fee arrangement; this is a good format where (as in most cases) the solution cannot be accurately described at the outset – this is because the process should be a fluid and exploratory one. The percentage fee calculation is updated as the design is developed and the product becomes better defined and therefore better costed; you will need the help of a Quantity Surveyor for this.

Selection ProcessIf your project is a big one you should start with a long list of say 6-12 practices; for a smaller project, 3 or 4 will be plenty. Recommendations count for an awful lot, so ask around within your own church hierarchy, and within other churches locally. If someone makes a recommendation, ask for the name of the key person they were dealing with. Then perhaps supplement these names with others sourced from the internet, which should either be local or have a relevant specialism. You can also ask the RIBA client services group for recommendations.

If you have a historic church building, then you should, at least from courtesy, ask your inspecting architect whether they are interested in pitching for the project. Church architects come in all shapes and sizes, and they may or may not have the requisite skills for your project, but it is important they know what is going on and are given the opportunity to take part in the process.

Once you have some names, look at practice websites and other information and reduce your list to 3-6. Contact each of these with a brief description of the nature of the project, and request information on the practice. From this information whittle your list down to 2-4 names who you will invite for interview. Make it clear you want to understand how each practice would approach the project, not to see specific proposals; if you have a plan of an existing building, or of a plot if a newbuild, that will help.

InterviewSo what are you looking for at interview? Remember what it is that you are buying – it is not a product or a solution, but a relationship. Do not let your head be turned by someone who comes along with a glitzy proposal – good design takes time, and the right result will come out of a relationship that has not yet started. It is, however, good to see someone who has done their homework on the local area, the church, and any existing buildings.

Understand that at interview, any architect worth the name will also be interviewing you. Great buildings are created out of the partnership between great architects and great clients; a poorly organised client will be ‘high maintenance’, and the building will suffer. A good architect will therefore want to understand how well you are organised and, frankly, whether you are serious. Reflect on the questions they ask of you – do they see this as a building project, or as a mission project that happens to involve a building? And crucially, how well do they listen?

Ask for testimonials from other clients. Ask for examples of other projects you could go and visit. Before you conclude your process you should follow up on these references.

FaithMany churches feel much happier dealing with someone who shares their Christian faith. You will need to think that issue through for yourselves, but our view is that this is helpful but not essential. You may well find the right mix of skills in someone who would not (yet) describe themselves as a Christian, and it may be that working with you will bring them closer to a living


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Choosing an faith. On the other hand, someone who does not have a feel for how churches work (culturally, in worship…) will need a lot more ‘coaching’ in what you need compared with someone who lives and breathes that culture. The most important question is: will they listen?

Further QuestionsHere are some other questions you should address in your process:

Ask about how your project fits into their practice – why it is important. You want a practice that will give your work the attention it deserves.What is the culture of the practice?If we appoint your practice, who will we be dealing with?What level of Professional Indemnity insurance does the practice carry?But the key question is: Do I trust this person – how good is the ‘chemistry’ between us?

Design Team – what do

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ArchitectThis is usually the first appointment, and is dealt with in a bit more detail in‘Choosing an Architect’. Aside from the obvious work of designing the building, the Architect has an important role in helping the client define their brief, in providing the church with the means to spread their vision for the project, and to advise on the appointment of the professional team. Trust and personality fit are very important; think of them as your critical friend.

Principal DesignerDeals with Health and Safety compliance, during design development, while on site, and once the building is in operation (eg how easy is to clean the high level windows?). As client, you have some serious responsibilities under the Construction Design and Management legislation, and the Principal Designer helps you fulfil these responsibilities. This appointment should be made as soon as is practicable after the feasibility stage.

Quantity SurveyorA QS can help you with the financial management of the project. At the very least you should have an initial budget prepared on the basis of outlinedesigns, and then refine this as more information becomes available; much better to invest in this information at an early stage than to have a nasty shock further down the line when money has been spent on professional fees etc for something that may not be affordable. A QS can also prepare a full ‘Bill of Quantities’ at tender stage to describe the works in full financial detail for each tenderer to price against, but this can be decided further down the line.

Structural EngineerDesigns the structural elements, eg beams and columns, foundations, and sometimes the underground drainage. If the design of the building is significantly affected by the structure (eg a particular design for the support of the roof) then the Structural Engineer should be involved in the early stages of design development; if not, then this appointment would follow the granting of planning permission.

Services EngineerDesigns the right heating system for the space and its occupancy pattern, the right lighting levels, the right ventilation etc. Again this usually follows the planning stage.

Reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim Hammett, http://www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk/P a g e | 1

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Design Team – what do Building InspectorPreviously this role was only carried out by the Local Authority; now you can choose to appoint an Approved Inspector, which is a private alternative.Generally speaking costs are similar. Whoever you use, it is important that there is a good level of understanding with the design team – if not this can be a major risk factor resulting in nasty surprises late in the day.

BuilderUsually chosen in competitive tender from a list agreed between the Architect and the Client. A good builder will not only produce work to a high standard, but will organise it in such a way that disruption to any existing uses is minimised. The builder is not normally thought of as part of the design team, but if they are chosen earlier in the process (see section 3.4 – Find the Right Builder) they can make a significant contribution to the design team, bringingtheir builder’s intelligence to the process. There are pros and cons for this early appointment, but it is well worth considering.

Project ManagerProject management was a role that in the past architects traditionally undertook, with varying degrees of success. A good PM will have their eye on the successful delivery of the overall project. They will help you define those success criteria, monitor risk, respond to the inevitable challenges that will arise. Some architects provide this service very well, either built in, or as an add-on; others think they provide it, but don’t…

Planning Or Heritage ConsultantNeeded if the planning or conservation issues are particularly complex.

Party Wall SurveyorIf you are building close to a boundary, or with foundations within 3m of a neighbour’s foundations you’re likely to need employ a Party Wall Surveyor during RIBA stage 3 (after planning permission has been granted).

Acoustic EngineerWould be needed where, for example, a new worship space is to be created, or if there was concern about noise pollution – eg where there are domestic properties close by. This input can be really helpful in the early stages of design development, when the form of the building is more fluid.


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Design Team – what do Audio Visual EngineerOnly needed if multi-media is an important part of how your church works; basic AV work can be specified by the Services Engineer, or indeed from expertise within the church.

Lighting DesignerIf there are very specific issues on the control of the lighting, or a need to create a particular effect, or to source a particular type of fitting, then it may be worth using a Lighting Designer.

Kitchen DesignerIf you are including anything more than domestic catering – for example a cafe or a commercial kitchen – then you will need some specialist input in sourcing equipment etc. This may be part of the technical design post-planning, or this conversation might start earlier, particularly if it has an impact on the exterior of the building – commercial kitchens require substantial ventilation equipment.


Find the right

1. References from Previous Clients

2. Relevant Experience in the Sector

3. Size Matters

4. Financial Checks

5. Visit Completed Projects

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Personal recommendation and local reputation count for a lot. Ideally we are looking for a builder who leaves all their clients delighted! If so, they will be doing an excellent job, because this is not easy. So you want to know whether the builder has previous clients who are willing to speak to you honestly about their experience of working together. In particular you want to know how proactively any unforeseen problems were addressed and dealt with. For example, if a project gets behind programme, how good are they about making up the time?

It is not essential that the builder has done projects before in the church sector, and sometimes a keen tender price can be achieved from a builder who has all the right skills and is eager to get into church work. What is important, however, is that the builder can demonstrate a command of the relevant issues. For example, alterations to a listed church should not be entrusted to a builder who only has experience of new build, and a builder who builds the occasional house will not be right for a substantial new building.

Aside from some builders being more suited to, say, new build as against conservation work, most builders will do the majority of their work within a range of contract size. Below that size and they are unlikely to be as cost-effective as a smaller firm carrying less overhead; above that size and they may struggle with managing the logistics of a larger project. It is good therefore to ask about the contract value of their three largest projects to date, and how often they do projects of this size. And beside that, one needs to look at the complexity of a project – a smaller project on a tighter site may well be more demanding than a larger project on an open site. It’s a question of horses for courses.

The cost to the client of their Contractor going bust during a building project can be very significant, so before appointing a Contractor it is well worth running some financial checks. If the firm is a limited company then accounts should be available from Companies House, though this will be old information. You can also glean useful information on the directors and the company structure – for example a director with a history of starting and closing down companies may be a warning sign. It is also wise to ask for a Banker’s Reference, which should show you the extent of the firm’s liquidity – you want to see that they have adequate room for financial manoeuvre.

There is no substitute for seeing the quality of a completed project by the same builder. Even if it is the same building firm, ask whether the same team of people that did that project would be


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6. Organisational Ability

7. Direct Labour

8. Health and Safety Record

9. Visit Their Offices, Look Inside Their Vans

10. Who Would We Be Dealing With?

Find the right involved in yours. Was the project delivered to time and to budget, or if not what were the good reasons?

Regrettably, organisational skills are often not a strong point, particularly for smaller builders, yet from a client’s point of view this can have a big impact on your experience of the building process. In particular you want to know there is someone in charge who lives and breathes detail, who cares enough about doing a good job to think ahead and spot problems before they arise, rather than merely responding when faced with them. An ability to produce an intelligent project programme (in the form of a GANTT chart, with a critical path) is an important indicator.

Ask about the balance between directly employed staff (‘on the books’) and subcontractors. Knowing which trades a builder has in house can be revealing – do they for example have their own plasterers, or stone masons. There is no one right answer to this; many builders produce great buildings using a lot of subcontracted labour, but that will depend on the quality of the relationships between the parties, and will have a big impact on the finished product.

Has the Contractor ever had any serious accidents on site? Can they show you a robust Health and Safety Plan for a similar project? Don’t judge this on the number of pages – it is easy to waste trees producing reams of standard information that no-one ever reads. What you are looking for is targeted project-specific information that analyses risky procedures and that documents an appropriate method statement for managing that risk.

Most people would regard these things as irrelevant, but these “Critical Non-Essentials” can speak volumes about the attitude of staff and how well-managed they are. And both of those are very relevant factors, because once again they will impact on the quality of the finished product.

At the enquiries stage, you would not expect to know who would be running a project on site, and most contact with the builder should in any case be through your architect. Even so, it is still really helpful to know how a builder structures their work, who is responsible for what, and how easy it will be to get in touch with the relevant person in authority if the need arose.


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Find the right Some of the above items are technical in nature, and you may well need professional help in interpreting the responses to these queries. Others are more a question of personal chemistry, of‘fit’. What you are looking for is a builder in whom you can have confidence to deliver a good result. And that firm will have someone in charge with whom both client and architect feel they have a good rapport, and to whom they can go for a mature discussion, should the need arise. A building contract is like a form of marriage; for many months you will be in partnership together, so it is worth doing some homework in advance.


Strategic Plan for your church

Mission statement –

Strategy –

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Here are some suggestions to help with developing the headings:

1. Vision statement (about the wider church mission) – a short statement that is inspirational as well as aspirational. It may use words like ‘transforming’ or ‘improving’. Try and let it cover the who, why, where and what of the church.

2. describes what you want to achieve in a little more detail. Maybe highlighting certain target groups of people who the church is trying to serve.

3. Include a diagram of the reporting structure and governance structure for the project. How will decisions be made and who makes them. You may include terms of reference for your Building committee/group.

4. Explain the church’s strategy and how the building development fits in with that. This might use specific SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) objectives. It can be helpful to summarise this in table form, with the following against each item:

o Key result area – eg ‘Develop a costed plan for the build’

o Who is responsible for this action – e.g. ‘Church Treasurer’

o By when – (Date)

5. Develop a detailed financial spreadsheet to project future income and expenditure, cashflow and balances over at least 3-5 years. Include at least 12 months after the building development has fully opened so it shows how sustainable the project is. (You will want to know that and so will potential funders/donors).

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Reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim Hammett, http://www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk/

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Marketing plan

Strategic Plan for your church

6. Describe how will you price, promote, develop the ‘product’ and place it in the ‘market’.

7. Have a mechanism in place for constant review of this document. It needs to be a living tool that can change during the process.

RIBA - So What Are The Stages?

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RIBA - So What Are The

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The system comprises 8 stages, numbered from 0-7 (!). Briefly, this is what each entails:

Stage 0 – Strategic Definition: This is the stage when you’re deciding whether or not you have a project at all – it may involve a feasibility study to explore whether a building project is a good idea, and if so what the possibilities are.

Stage 1 – Preparation and Brief: Here you decide what you hope the project will achieve (the ‘Brief’ part), and commission any surveys, for example of an existing building or piece of land (the ‘Preparation’ part).

Stage 2 – Concept Design: Here you start seeing some proposals, initially in sketchy form, and later with more formal drawings. At the end of this stage you will have decided what product it is they are trying to buy – how big the building is, what it looks like, and what you will be able to do with it.

Stage 3 – Developed Design: The design is developed further and a planning application is submitted.

Stage 4 – Technical Design: At this stage other members of the design team input and co-ordinate design information – for example the structural and services design.

Stage 5 – Construction: The contractor gets ready to begin work and then builds the building;

Stage 6 – Handover and Close Out: The builder hands the completed building over and after a period (typically a year) any subsequent defects related to the building work are addressed, and the building contract is concluded.

Stage 7 – In Use: This allows for post-occupancy evaluation and review of whether the project achieved what it set out to.

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RIBA - So What Are The

CommentsThe programme shown is for a substantial project with typical timings assuming a fair wind; sometimes the stages may become more drawn out – for example there may be a pause while sufficient funds are raised to be confident making a start with the building work.

Also note that the diagram illustrates a sequential process. Where there is a specific deadline – eg ‘we must be finished by Christmas’ – stages may be overlapped so the overall timescale can be shortened. For example if you were very confident that planning approval would be forthcoming at the first time of asking, then it might make sense to start on Stage 4 while the planning process is still underway. The obvious risk is that if for whatever reason permission is not forthcoming, then some additional fees may be incurred – so the benefits of earlier completion must be substantial and the risks clearly understood.

Contract

Adapted from www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim

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Design Team

Percentage of construction cost is

A building project involves a series of relationships with a variety of professionals. In most cases each relationship will involve paying fees in return for a service, which in each case will mean that you will enter some form of contract. These contracts can be as simple as an exchange of letters, or they may use a more thorough standard form, depending on the extent of the input required; for example an architect’s appointment commonly uses the RIBA Standard Form of Agreement.

It is down to the two parties to agree the basis on which you pay different members of the design team. There are many ways this can be done, for example:

Lump Sum: Where the scope of the work required is well-defined a lump sum may be appropriate;

an arrangement that flexes with the size of the project. A building project should be a creative and exploratory process; as such it is not possible at the beginning to foresee the end result in any detail, and it is therefore not possible to predict accurately how much work is involved. This is where a percentage fee may be appropriate.

Time charge: The meter is running and, as with a taxi ride, you simply pay for the time it takes. This can be good for more minor aspects where the work is carried out on an ad hoc basis; it also puts the onus on you as the client to be organised.

The basis for payment is one important item for discussion when interviewing, but of course should not be the only criterion for selection.

As an initial rough guide anticipate paying about 10% overall for your professional costs for a new build project. Fees will be higher on work to existing buildings, because there are more decisions to be made here than in designing a new building. For works to listed buildings there is still more to think about and co-ordinate, and more people to liaise with and get approval

Contract

Adapted from www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim

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from, so expect the fees here to be a bit higher again. Remember professional costs normally have VAT on them.

Building ContractsMuch the biggest contract you will enter into is the one with the builder for the actual building work. This will use one of the standard forms (usually JCT, or perhaps NEC). The type of contract will usually be proposed by your architect and/or project manager (if you have one). In essence the contract is simply a promise by the builder to complete the works described by the design team for£X, starting on Y date and finishing on Z date. The terms of the contract then describe important issues such as how the builder is to be paid and when, how the cost of the contract can be varied when something changes, and how the time can be extended. Most contracts also include a facility for ‘partial possession’, which will be important for a project with any sort of a phased completion.

Most building contracts allow for monthly valuations of (and payment for) the work completed, and as the work progresses for a retention to be kept back until the end. Typically this retention is 5% if the value of the works up to the point you take possession of the building, and 2.5% from then until all the snags are ironed out at the end of a defined ‘defects period’, which usually runs for a year.

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Communication Plan for your church project

Having established your stakeholder map you then need to ensure that each group of people on the map get the right amount of timely information about the project that is relevant to them.

You can appoint a volunteer on your Building Group to oversee communications both internally within your church family and externally to the various stakeholders.


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Add the key moments of communication needed to the Gantt chart

Remember the old adage – “say it five times in five different ways – and people might remember it”!

Develop different ways of communication such as: a spoken notice at a Sunday service a visual on a screen at a Sunday service video a notice on a noticeboard an email a letter a section on your website your regular newssheet / magazine face to face meetings visit an MP’s surgery texts or calls facebook/twitter or other social networks leaflets, flyers information packs


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Convey the same piece of information in a variety of ways and that will give you the best chance of communicating the latest news to everyone. Keeping people informed will help people engage and keep momentum on a project that will be likely to take years. Poor communication leads to a loss of momentum and often a loss of funding enthusiasm.

TIP: Don’t forget that new people may be joining your church every few months – plan how you will get them up to speed with the project and get theirengagement…

SECOND TIP: Don’t forget your ‘alumnae’ – people who have moved to other areas or abroad, who may treasure their connection to your church.


Brave New

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So congratulations – you are getting ready to open! Here are some helpful ideas to get you up and running well in time for the first year of operation.

Plan the opening day a long way aheadOften churches nominate an official open day several months after they hope the building work is finished. If you are having special guests and community leaders to the BIG day, this is a wise move as building delays do happen! Go back to your stakeholder map and make a list of who to invite. This may be a strategic way to attract new people into your building.

Invite local people within the community to your special day and gear a Sunday service to newcomers. It’s your chance for a fresh opportunity to impact your community. Food afterwards is always a lure! Plan the day or weekend carefully and don’t miss this opportunity to get some local press coverage to advertise all the new facilities.

Managing and staffing the new building.A new building may require significantly more people to staff it. What mix of paid employees and volunteers will you have? What training will they need? What roles require people who are paid (and have a contract of employment) and what roles



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Brave New could be filled by volunteers who may have an agreement. Well before your open day, recruit, induct and train your staff and volunteers and allow time for them to get used to the building before any official opening. If you are setting up a café, consider some ‘dummy days’ with church members, to make sure everything runs smoothly. In your planning make sure you allow for time off, annual leave, sickness and statutory bank holidays in your rotas.

Plan regular reviews in the first year of operation as well as the normal annual appraisal reviews; good practice extends this process, albeit in a less formal way, to volunteers.

Develop an operating policyChurches often worry about having to allow anyone into the building who can rent the premises and fear some groups may be incompatible with their own faith objectives. Normally for a charity that has been given charitable status on faith grounds this should not be a concern. There are exemptions that specifically cover faith groups not having to rent their premises to certain groups who would be seen by the majority of their congregation as incompatible with their governing document. (So of course that governing document needs to be well written and consistent with your aims.

Other Christian groups may take the view that their building is a tool to use to build relationships with people of other faiths and see it as a new opportunity. Either way, it’s helpful to establish a written operating policy. This will cover group rentals, charges, use of the building in terms of alcohol sales, noise levels, opening and lock up times (often these are stipulated as part of the planning permission application, so check there), staffing levels, and health and safety policy. Draft a policy and check with other churches to help you refine this.

Planning and monitoring the financesWe will deal more with budgeting elsewhere, and there is a budget template in Excel format in the section. This sample template can be adjusted to suit your context, but includes cashflow forecasts for the running costs of a new build or major church building extension. Consider the income and expenditure of items such as a café, room rental income, special events, insurance, Council tax (and your exemptions which will usually range between 80-100%), additional staff costs, utility bills, legal and accounting costs and maintenance.


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Brave New

Have a nominated person (perhaps in addition to your church treasurer) who can manage these additional finances. Train staff to manage budgets. You may have cross payments between a charitable company and a trading company to have to make and managing your bank accounts may be a significantly bigger task now than before the opening. Gear up ready for the extra work and don’t be afraid to pay professionals to help with the workload, they may be able to save you some money as well.


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Brave New Keeping the visionAt the start of the journey you set up a clear written vision of what you were hoping the building project would deliver. Keep this at the forefront of your mind. Don’t let the ‘tool’ of the building ever take over from the vision. The tail must never wag the dog! The building is there to serve the vision, not the other way round. When themaintenance team become too precious about the new carpets, blinds or equipment, then it may be time to re-examine the vision and ensure you are still on track. It’s good for the church leader to keep reminding their congregation of the original vision!

EXAMPLE ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN (AMP)By combining real tasks and costs of Regular Maintenance with projected tasks and costs of Capital Repairs, Improvements & New Works, the AMP produces annual and long term budgets for the building, enabling both preventative maintenance and saving for large capital items.

CAPITAL REPAIRS When work will be requiredChurchyard Paths 10 yr 5,000 500 * * * 15,000Felt roofs to boiler roof and organ loft 20 yr 10,000 666 * * 20,000Repair/replace window feramenta as & when 3,000 300 * * * 9,000North Aisle Mullions 100+ yr 25,000 834 * 25,000Pinnacles to tower 100+ yr 60,000 2,000 * 60,000High Level Internal Cleaning 10 yr 3,000 300 * * * 9,000Lead Roofs patch repair 10 yr 3,000 300 * * * 9,000Lead roof replace (100 years old) 150 yr 150,000 3,000 50 90,000Electric Lighting upgrade 25 yr 25,000 833 * 25,000Electric Power upgrade 25yr 15,000 500 * 15,000Heating & Boiler upgrade 25 yr 35,000 1,166 * 35,000Kitchen & Toilets upgrade 15 yr 12,000 800 * * 24,000Ventilation System Replace 20 yr 18,000 600 * 18,000Total 11,799 354,000

IMPROVEMENTS & NEW WORKS Project Target CompletionFire Alarm & Emergency lights install one off 18,000 3,600 *Re-ordering, new rooms & office one off 130,000 13,000 *New Mower one off 500 100 *Total 16,700

AMP annual total (£) to be raised: 34,854

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KNOWN COST per ANNUAL Year Intervals COST overCYCLE CYCLE COST 2 5 10 15 20 25 30 other 30 YEARS

REGULAR MAINTENANCEClean Gutters and Downpies 3 months 200 800 24,000Clean Gullies and drains 3 months 50 200 6,000Boiler Service annual 200 200 6,000Ventilation Service annual 200 200 6,000Portable Electric Appliances Test annual 125 125 3,750Vermin and Rodent Control 3 months 70 280 8,400Cleaning window glass 2 yr 500 250 * 7,500Lightning Conductor Test 2 yr 100 50 * 1,500Fire Extinguisher Test/replacement annual 150 150 4,500Electrical Installation Test 5 yr 3,000 600 * * * * * * 18,000Painting Exterior metal/wood 5 yr 5,000 1,000 * * * * * * 30,000Churchyard Grass-mower service, fue annual 300 300 9,000Churchyard Landscape/Trees annual 500 500 15,000Churchyard walls pointing & clear ivy 5 yr 1,000 200 * * * * * * 6,000Repointing Various Areas 2 yr 3,000 1,500 * 45,000Total 6,355 190,650

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Statement of Significance

Guidance on completing this form can be found on the ChurchCare website at http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/guidance-advice/statements-of-significance-need

This document must be accompanied by the Standard Information Form 1A

Section 1: Brief history and description of the church building(s), contents, churchyard and settingSection 2: The significance of the church (including its contents and churchyard) in terms of:i) Its special architectural and historical interestii) Any significant features of artistic or archaeological interest

Please state if you have taken expert advice to help you define the significance, and from whom.

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Statement of Needs

Guidance on completing this form can be found on the ChurchCare website at http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/guidance-advice/statements-of-significance-need

This document must be accompanied by the Standard Information Form 1A

Section 1. General information

This should provide an overview of the parish and the current use of the building.

Section 2. What do you need?

Briefly explain your needs (not your proposals). Append any brief for your architect.

Section 3. The proposals

Set out what you are proposing to do in order to meet the needs set out in section 2.

Section 3: Assessment of the impact of the proposals on the significance defined in Section 2

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Section 5. Justification

If the proposals are likely to harm the significance outlined in the Statement of significance, explain how the proposals would result in public benefits which outweigh such harm (public benefits include matters such as liturgical freedom, pastoral wellbeing and putting the church to viable uses that are consistent with its role as a place of worship and mission).

Section 4. Why do you need it and why do you need it now?

Justify your proposals by explaining why you can’t meet your needs without making changes. Also include anything which may have prompted the proposals.

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Form 1A(Rules 4.2 and 5.5)

Standard Information (parish churches etc.)

Diocese of

Church of

In the parish of

Approximate date of church

Is the church listed? Yes / No

If so, please state whether it is grade I, II* or II

Is the church, churchyard or any adjoining structure wholly or partly scheduled as an ancient monument?

Yes / No

Is the church, churchyard or any adjoining structure in a conservation area? Yes / No

If it is, please state which

Is the church, churchyard or any adjoining structure in a national park? Yes / No

If it is, please state which

Is there any evidence that bats use the church, its curtilage or any adjoining structure? Yes / No

Please give details of any privately ownedchapels, aisles or windows

Name of lay rector, if known

Is the churchyard or burial ground consecrated?

Yes / No

Has it been used for burials? Yes / No

Is it still used for burials?Yes / No

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If the churchyard or burial grounds is no longer used for burials has it been closed by Order in Council?

Yes / No

If it has, please give the date of the Order

Are there any graves that are identified as war graves by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission?

Yes / No

Please identify any historic structures, listed tombs, war memorials or significant trees in the churchyard or burial ground

Please give the name and address of the architect or surveyor appointed for the church under the Inspection of Churches Measure1955

Signed: Date:

Office or position held:

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Guidance Note Statements of Significance and Statements of Needs

This form should be used for all projects other than very complex ones. For major complex projects an expanded version of this form is likely to be more appropriate. The Council would strongly urge that these documents are prepared at an early stage of the faculty process so as to help inform decisions and identify areas of conflict. A word version of the templates in this document is available on the ChurchCare website at http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/guidance-advice/statements-of-significance-need

Statement of Significance

The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2013 define a Statement of Significance as “a document which describes the significance of the church or other building in terms of its special architectural and historic interest (including any contribution made by its setting) and any significant features of artistic or archaeological interest that the

church or other

building has so as to enable the potential impact of the proposals on its significance, and on any such features, to be understood”.

A Statement of Significance is an important tool to help everyone understand the significance of the church building and its fabric and fittings.

It is a useful resource for anyone with responsibility for your churches fabric and encourages good stewardship of your heritage building.

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It should be prepared independently of any Faculty application, and ideally reviewed annually so that any recently obtained historical material or changes, such as an extension or reordering, can be incorporated, and a copy should be given to the Church Architect to include in his Quinquennial Inspection Report.

A Statement of Significance should accompany every faculty application that involves making changes to a listed church. It will help

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those in the Faculty system advise you and assess your plans for change.

This guidance includes a template to help you to write your Statement of Significance.It should include a ground plan and map of the local area and at least two photographs, normally one of the exterior, one of the interior. The notes in the boxes will guide you as to the sort of things to include.

In assessing significance you may wish to use the following customary terminology:High – important at national to international levels Moderate-High – important at regional or sometimes higher Moderate – usually of local value but of regional significance for group or other value (e.g. vernacular architecture)Low-Moderate – of local valueLow – adds little or nothing to the

value of a site or detracts from it

Statement of Needs

The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules

2013 define a Statement of Needs as “a document setting out the justification for the proposals” and stipulates that “If proposals are likely to result in harm to the significance of the church or other building as a building of special architectural or historic interest, the document setting out the justification for the proposals must set out the basis on which it is said that the proposals would result in public benefit that outweighs that harm”.

A Statement of Needs should be a document which serves both the parish and those involved in the faculty process. It should be a tool for the parish, enabling the PCC to focus its vision and agree on what it seeks to achieve. For others, such as the DAC, CBC and English Heritage it serves to provide easily accessible information to help assess the scheme which is being proposed for a faculty.

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Statements of Needs are the parish’s opportunity to explain, justify and rationalise the proposals to all interested parties.

Consider that some people will not have the opportunity to visit the church and will need to base opinions on the information you provide in these supporting statements.

Bearing this in mind, you are strongly encouraged to ensure that the Statement is factual, informative, clear and concise.

Try not to be emotive or over-dramatic.The facts of the situation should speak clearly for

themselves.

Basic facts about the project

Statements of Significance and Needs must be accompanied by the Standard Information form 1A which will contain the basic facts about the project.

January 2014

Statement of

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Section 2: The significance of the church (including its contents and churchyard) in terms of:i) Its special architectural and historical interestii) Any significant features of artistic or archaeological interest



Section 1: Brief history and description of the church building(s), contents, churchyard and setting

Statement of

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Briefly explain your needs (not your proposals). Append any brief for your architect.








This should provide an overview of the parish and the current use of the building.

Statement of Significance - Guidance on

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Use the following guidance and key questions to help you complete the form

Section 1: Brief history and description of the church building(s), contents, churchyard and setting

Church Building(s)What is the history of the church; when was a church first established on the site and how has it changed over time; who are the architects, artists and other craftsmen who have been involved; have there been any significant benefactors and has this affected the choice of architect / artist or the incorporation of any monuments in the church? How does work carried out on the church link to international, national, regional or local architectural and artistic movements? What is its plan form, spatial quality, building materials used? how it is lit and heated? What is the theological ‘message’ communicated by the exterior and interior of the church? Are there any significant events or personalities associated with the church? Are there important memories associated with the church or churchyard?

ContentsThese may include; Altar; Reredos; Pulpit; Lectern; Font; Stained glass; wall paintings; Bells and Bell frame; Monuments; Organ; Communion plate; Registers; Pews and other woodwork; Metalwork; Communion rails; floor finishes. Do the contents relate to any particular historical changes to the church and do they contribute to the significance of those changes? Are any of the artists or craftsmen of international, national, regional or local importance?

It is reasonable to group these if there is a contemporary scheme which is significant as such, for example one could say a complete scheme of 18th-century furnishings.

ChurchyardIs the church or churchyard used by protected species or species with Biodiversity Action Plans? Are there any ancient, very prominent, rare or unusual trees? How good a habitat is the churchyard for fauna and flora?

SettingAre there distant or near views which are valued by the congregation / wider community / visitors / experts? How do the trees contribute to the setting? What is known of the landscape design and history of the churchyard, including extensions? Are there archaeological remains? Are adjacent buildings similar, complementary or contrasting in age, style, materials or age? How are the boundary and entrances marked? Are the monuments, war memorials significant?

Section 2: The significance of the church (including its contents and churchyard) in terms of:i) Its special architectural and historical interestii) Any significant features of artistic or archaeological interest

This should provide an overview of the significance of the church, and the contribution of its setting to that significance. This should be compiled before any specific proposal has been worked up, and can be re-used for

Statement of Significance - Guidance on

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each faculty application, although of course it will have to be kept up to date. Refer to the terminology in the introductory section of this guidance document to help you define significance.


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Section 3 will be prepared in draft form for any pre-application consultations, and finalised to accompany a faculty application when a scheme has been worked up.

This should not be a justification of your scheme, which should be in the Statement of Need. The level of detail provided should be proportionate to the importance of the heritage asset and sufficient to understand the impact of the proposal on the significance of the heritage asset.

Identify the parts of the church and/or churchyard which will be directly or indirectly affected by your proposal. Describe and assess the impact of your proposal on these parts, and on the whole. Impacts could include loss, alteration, obscuring, change of setting and change of use. Characterise impacts as either low, moderate or high.

Explain how you intend, where possible, to mitigate the impact of the proposed works on the significance of the parts affected and the whole.

Sources consulted

List the sources consulted. These may include:

•‘Buildings of England’ series by Pevsner•Reports by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), now part of English Heritage•The local history society•The local museum•Diocesan Record Centre•County Record Centre•County Biological Records Centre•Historic Environment Record (HER), maintained by your local authority.•Victoria County History (VCH)

Statutory designations and descriptions for churchyards, churches or objects within them can be checked through your local planning authority, English Heritage and Natural England (Nature Conservation significance).

Useful web sites include:•ChurchCare http://www.churchcare.co.uk/•Shrinking the footprint http://www.churchcare.co.uk/shrinking-the-footprint•Heritage Gateway www.heritagegateway.org.uk/•Magic www.magic.gov.uk•Caring for God’s Acre www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk

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Statement of Needs – Guidance on completion

Use the following guidance and key questions to help you complete the form


This should provide an overview of the parish and the current use of

the building. This may include:How many people live in the parish/ village/ town?What different type of services take place in the church each week/ month and how many people attend each of the different services on average?How many people are on the electoral roll?What is the age profile of the congregation? What children's provision is there? On Sundays and midweek? How many children attend these activities?Is the church normally left open during daylight hours?What other activities happen in the church alongside prayer and worship?What is the financial position of the church (e.g. reserves, payment of quota). Are funds available now? Or have funds been applied for or are being applied for? Please state to whom applications have been made and if applications have been successful or refused?When was the last Quinquennial report? What were the major issues which were highlighted? Are you on top of these issues? Do you have a maintenance plan?


Briefly explain your needs (not your proposals). Append any brief for

your architect. You may find it helpful to divide the needs up into areas

such as:Facilities e.g. we need one accessible toilet and the ability to serve refreshments.Space e.g. we need a meeting room to accommodate up to 25 people sitting and 40 people standing.Access e.g. we need to provide a permanent route into the building which is accessible for wheelchairs.Liturgy e.g. we need to make arrangements to use a nave altar. Other e.g. we need to install a new heating system





How will this proposal help the ministry of the church? How will it enhance the liturgical space and services?

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How will it help small group work and midweek meetings? How will it help the mission of the church?What new groups of people will be drawn into the life of the church? What new activities and events will be able to take place in the church? How will it help your financial situation?How is the proposal contributing to the need for environmental sustainability?

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Describe any recent changes which have taken place which have led to the need arising, for example:

In the church congregation: rise in numbers attending, growth in particular age group such as children, introduction of new services and activities, arrival of new Vicar or church plant.In the local area: new housing development, increase/decrease in population, major regeneration scheme, major change in infrastructure such as transport links, employment opportunitiesIn the church building: deterioration of fabric, vandalism or other damage, subsidence, etc.In the financial situation: a large bequest may have been made, there may be a pressing need to generate more money through the use of the building due to rising costs of ministry and mission.



What other options to meet the need were considered?These may include: larger or smaller schemes, different designs, locating the scheme/proposal in a different part of the church building, not making a change at all, providing a management solution rather than a change in the fabric, using a different building in the wider community e.g. school, community hall, another church. What were the pros and cons of each option?

Statements of

Reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim http://

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What Is A Statement Of Needs? (And When Do I Need One?)If you have a listed church building to which you want to make changes, then you use the Statement of Needs to set out the thinking behind the proposed alterations. However, the process of producing a Statement of Needs is useful for any church considering a building project.

The danger with any project is that those who are driving it forward get so involved in the detail that they can sometimes forget that others (and there are lots of other stakeholders) will not be as far advanced in their understanding of the thinking behind the proposals. A Statement of Needs serves the twin purposes of filling that information gap while at the same time inviting comment and other ideas.

As with a Statement of Significance the best format is to be brief (in this case 2-3 pages of A4), and refer to other documents or appendices if necessary. If yours is a historic building, it is essential to work it up in conjunction with your Statement of Significance.

A Possible Structure:

1. Your Needs: A brief description of what you are trying to achieve. This might be in terms of facilities – eg “An additional room to seat 25 with tea station; the room should have separate external access, and internal access to the WCs”; in terms of Liturgy – eg a change to the pattern of worship or the use of the building; or in terms of Building Services – eg new heating or lighting etc.

2. The Benefit: What would achieving this change mean? How does it change what you can do as a church, whether in terms of worship or mission?

3. The Vision: Crucially, how does this fit with your overall vision for being the church in your particular locality?

4. The Footprint: How will this impact the church financially, particularly the long term running costs? An additional room may bring in some income from lettings, but would also add to running costs (heating, lighting and maintenance). What impact will it have on sustainability? Will it have an impact on staffing?

5. The Timing: Why do this now? What trends if any do you see in patterns of attendance at the church? How might the proposals alter that?

6. The Context: As a church, are you at the centre of your community, or on the edge? Answer that both geographically and in people’s minds. Are there broader demographic changes in the locality – eg a new housing development?

7. The History: Bear in mind that you are part of an unfolding narrative of Godʼs people in your particular place. You are writing one single chapter of

Statements of


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that

Statements of


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larger story. How does this generation’s chapter fit with the story so far? And where might the story go next?

8. The Evidence: Who has been consulted in the process of refining this need, and how has this been recorded? If you hold an open day or other event it is always a good idea to invite written comments; this can be really useful in making your case for change.

9. The Options: What alternatives have been considered? In the case of a historic building, how does the proposal fit with the Statement of Significance?

Feeling ‘Witi’?If you struggle to articulate the basis of your needs, then another possibility is to start with a result you might have in mind and work back towards the beginning. Starting with your endpoint, ask the question “Why Is That Important?”; repeat this perhaps four or five times. An example might be wanting to add an extension to your church. The internal ‘conversation’ might go like this:

We want to add another room to the church. / Why is that important? The church lacks a social space. / Why is that important? There is nowhere for the children to meet separately during a service, or for

midweek meetings. / Why is that important? We feel called to offer God’s hospitality and to be at the centre of our

community; we believe the additional room will enable us to draw more people into the church.

This exercise may feel artificial, but if done in collaboration with others may produce some really useful insights. It is important that you can give an account to all that ask as to why you want to alter your building – having comprehensive answers will help you to meet legitimate concerns and build that all-important consensus required for any church project to succeed.

SummaryThe key point is to think through what you are hoping to achieve and to root this in your vision for the life of the church. The Statement of Needs will help you to spell out the thinking that has led you to your conclusion. Often this exercise is done after a specific set of proposals has been drawn up and the design process is well advanced, but this is a post-rationalisation. As outlined above it would form an excellent basis for a project brief, and it is therefore a great piece of thinking to have done before engaging an architect or design team.

Risk

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This isn’t a section to scare you. This is about trying to identify the things that might go wrong, and taking sensible steps to reduce the chances of their happening. It is not about eliminating risk: who, after all, really wants to wear a belt and braces?

Consider whether you give one person the role of devil’sadvocate (constructively!) to try and identify weaknesses and find ways to overcoming them. So here are where some of these risks may arise, and what you can do about them:

GovernanceMuch of what you will be doing during the period leading up to and including a building project, and afterwards, will be unfamiliar. If you try and muddle along without accepting that you have to make some special roles and responsibilities clear, and be careful in choosing the right people for your team, you run the risk of suffering some major impacts on your church.

Key person riskTry and ensure that key people share what they are doing with at least one other person, that documents they are writing are available to others, and that their roles are clearly defined.

Strategic FitHere we’re talking about the strategic fit of your building project – does it respond to the mission purpose(s), and have the mission purpose(s) been well founded?

Fundraising and income generationThere are some obvious and less obvious risks in this section – matching fundraising to the scope of the building project – and the reverse – is the most obvious one, but also its effect on operating income.

Legal and contractualCareful scoping, shortlisting, supplier selection and clarity of contract are all components in mitigating this risk

Programme/timingsAre there some dependencies which might trip you up? A building project has lots of operations where one cannot start until a previous one is complete. Or a tenant cannot start until the building is open.

Risk

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Commercial risks (inflation, procurement)Will costs vary against the estimate and what you fund-raised? Are your suppliers in good financial health?

Financial issues (e.g. VAT, contingency)Try and avoid surprises but plan for some!

Multi-

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Sound DeskAssuming you have a church building of any size you will need at least some form of amplification. In planning your space you will therefore need to decide early on about the location of the sound desk, because this will be the hub for a whole network of cables. In terms of location, it is much easier to control the sound if you are able to hear it as the rest of the congregation is. For this reason, a separate sound box like a projection room is a bad idea; and in practical terms it is also helpful if you have easy access to the stage area in case you need to go to the front to adjust a microphone or whatever.

Generally the sound desk is best located towards the rear of the space and slightly raised to enable views over people’s heads when the congregation is standing. It can therefore become a substantial element within the space. If possible it is best to avoid areas with a substantially lowered ceiling, as this area will have a different acoustic. If the system is reasonably complex you will have various pieces of rack- mounted equipment, some of which may be very expensive. This in turn raises the issue of how much of the equipment is locked away, which in turn depends on the pattern of use of the building, and how well supervised it is during the week.

Camera, Lights, Action!Many churches make good use of projection. It enables you to dispense with a lot of the hand-held clutter that can be so unfamiliar and off-putting to first time visitors, and free worship up for everyone. It also allows for a much wider variety of forms of presentation.

For some churches, particularly those on the Hillsong model, the use of multi-media is so central that the architecture of the building is designed around it – the church is essentially a theatrical black box without any windows to let in natural light. This is undeniably preferable if video projection is your top priority, but as with all things in life this comes at a cost in other areas; the important thing is to be clear who you are, and to understand the implications of the compromises you will have to make. If you do not adopt the ‘black box’ model then you will need to plan your projection with sunlight in mind, and consider how you will black out high level windows.

If you are dealing with an old building, sight lines are unlikely to be as favourable as in an open-span modern space, and the location of screens will need a good deal of thought. In a traditional church with side aisles it is very likely you will need repeater screens to deal with blind spots. If you are planning a new installation as part of a


Multi-

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P a g e | 1


P a g e | 2

Multi-reordering, then it is advisable if possible to use the building in its new format(s) before finalising the projection and AV. In an old building it is also important to be able to hide projection screens away – when not in use a large blank screen has a significant impact on the feel of the space.

FlexibilityDesigning a multi-media system for a space with a single pattern of use is one thing. But many churches want to have some flexibility for how the space is arranged, and crucially where the focus of attention is. If that is the case for you, then you will either need a location for your control desk that works for each of the main layout options, or you will need some mobility, which will come at the cost of a more complex system and a larger price tag.

At the same time, think through which other spaces you want to have video and audio relayed to. It is often a good idea to do this for a foyer or café space, particularly if parents might use this to take restless children out of the main space.

Induction LoopDon’t forget to make allowance for an induction loop to cover the whole space; this is a simple ring of copper wire or tape hidden around the perimeter linked to a small transmitter, and enables those with hearing aids to hear much better. A loop is not difficult or expensive to install, but like all these things is much better planned for than fitted as an afterthought.

General Principles Technology is wonderful, but it is a moving feast that is developing all the

time. For example, it is now possible to control a complex installation from a tablet or smartphone. This introduces more flexibility.

Pay for some good advice – an AV Consultant should be able to help you with developments in what is available and, if they’re doing their job, should help you cut down your wish list to what you really need. It is very important to be clear about what you’re hoping to achieve, and not simply to be wowed by all the sweets in what can be a very exciting sweet shop.

As with much else in life, the best advice is ‘KISS’ – ‘Keep it simple, Stupid!’. Any system, particularly for a community building, either needs to be durable enough to last several decades, or important enough that you are happy to


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Multi-replace the key bits every few years. Much modern technology is, sadly, very fragile; no matter how clever it is, if it breaks easily it will be no use at all.

Aim to be moderately future-proof. The knack here is to anticipate which sort of future changes would be disruptive of the space as a whole, while not trying to cater for every conceivable future need. In practice this may be as simple as laying spare ducts to enable cables to be run across the space without looping around the walls. Many cables come with the ends already made off – in practice this means wider ducts are very helpful. Floor boxes should be strategically located and big enough to accommodate additional outlets if needed.

How Much Is Enough?Multi-media is one area where needs and wants can easily become confused. Bad multi-media is an embarrassment and will impact your ministry. Equally, there are churches where the installation is clearly out of proportion to the real needs of the worshipping community. So while multi-media is important, it should never become an end in itself. Take a sanity check at each stage of developing a multi-media design, and always be clear who wears the ‘ministerial trousers’

Shrinking the


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It is not difficult to make the theological argument that we all have a responsibility to care for the planet. Since the industrial revolution, we in Western societies have consistently lived way beyond our means. If Genesis 1-3 teaches us anything, it is that creation was made good and its spoiledness is down to mankind, not to the natural order of things. Of course some on the religious Right may disagree, but then if that is you, you’re unlikely to be reading this in the first place.

If we combine an understanding that we have a Christian duty to look after the world as best we

can, with the plain fact that buildings are a major source of energy use and therefore greenhouse

gas production, we should think hard about how we design and use our buildings. And more

positively, church buildings present us with ample opportunity to put an environmental theology

into practice.

Technologies Building form: The first and most basic opportunities for saving energy are in

the orientation and form of the building. The more spread-out your building is the more wasteful of energy it will be, because it will have a higher ratio of surface area (and thus heat-loss) to volume (activity).

Orientation: Something as simple as how your building is oriented has a significant impact on how much energy it uses. With windows in the right place it can gain benefit from the sun during the winter months, or if badly placed those windows can cause it to overheat in the summer.

Building Construction: The next place to look is the amount of heat loss through the building fabric. Building Regulations set a (gradually improving) minimum standard of insulation; if we want to be green, we should be aiming to super-insulate our roofs, walls and windows.

Heat recovery: Any mechanical ventilation system should have a heat recovery mechanism, so that waste heat is not pumped outside but fed back into the building.

Photovoltaic cells (PVs): These generate electricity for use locally and export back to the grid. This is a technology that still requires a subsidy from Government to make any financial sense, though this level of subsidy has come down a lot. With the subsidy this is effectively a simple investment, with a simple payback somewhere in the 9-13 year timescale. PVs can work very well with a heat pump to maintain the building at a background temperature.

Heat Pumps: These are electrically powered heat exchangers – it is the same technology as used in your fridge, but used to ‘move’ heat from outside to inside. Heat pumps consume electricity, but for every kW used they produce


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Shrinking the

3-4kW of heat. This brings the current running costs of a heat pump system to approximate parity with gas (because electricity is much more expensive per kW than gas). The advantage is that gas will run out, but we have more choice as to how we generate our electricity, including of course various means that produce no carbon. Heat pumps source the heat either from the air or the ground; ground source systems either use boreholes to say 100m depth, or coils laid horizontally a little way below the surface. There may be grants available to assist with installing heat pumps. Note that the heat from heat pumps is relatively low temperature; it is easier to make use of this with an underfloor heating system, than with radiators.

Bio-mass: These are alternative boilers that burn wood, either in log form, or as pellets. This makes financial sense when compared with the cost of oil – ie in rural settings – but will be more costly than gas. You also need to be confident of your fuel supply.

Rainwater harvesting: This catches rainwater for use as ‘grey water’ – particularly flushing of WCs and of course watering of planting. Whether this is a sensible thing to consider depends on the extent of usage through the week.

Wind turbines: If you’re on a windswept hill, then this might be a good idea; if you’re anywhere remotely urban then this is not a sensible option to incorporate on your building.

StickabilityFor the reasons mentioned above, many churches aspire to create green buildings. Many projects start with sound green ambitions, but these ‘add-ons’ quickly get cut out again once tenders have come in higher and cost savings need to be made. The issue therefore is how to make these technologies ‘stick’.

There are no easy answers to that, but the first three of the ‘technologies’ above (Building Form, Orientation and Construction) are much more integral to a project design and thus more difficult to omit later; they should also be the place we should always start anyway. Our observation is that the more something is seen as a nice- to-have add-on, the more likely it is to get cut out. The issue therefore is how well- rooted these green aspects of the design are in the overall picture of who you are and what your project is about. The issues thus comes back to one of vision, and therefore of theology.


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Shrinking the

SustainabilityThe Diocese of London has a lot of well-written guidance, including a long section on Sustainable Building. It is an excellent overview of what is a complex area, and includes information on materials, embodied and life-cycle energy, and some information on specific technologies. Shrinking the Footprint is another site maintained by the Church of England with a wide range of resources, and is of particular relevance to historic church buildings.

Acoustic

Reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim Hammett,http://www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk/

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The acoustic design and performance of buildings is a technical issue for which a specialist may be required, but because it is an issue that has big implications for the practical use of your building it is very helpful if you at least have a feel for the subject.

There are two main acoustics issues for churches to consider – firstly the sound characteristics of the main spaces – certainly the worship space, but also entrance spaces need to be considered – and secondly sound separation between spaces within the building, and between the building and your neighbours.

Echo … Echo … Echo…The acoustic feel of a space depends partly on its shape, but also on the materials on its surfaces. The smoother and harder a surface, the more the sound bounces off it without losing any of its intensity. This reflected sound either reinforces the sound you are hearing direct from the source, so making it clearer, or gets confused with the original, making it difficult to ‘hear’ (ie decode) what is being said or sung.

Unwanted NoiseBefore we consider spaces for worship, let’s think about a welcome space or foyer. The feel of the space will be completely different if it has a low ceiling or a high one. If the foyer has a low ceiling with hard surfaces on both ceiling and floor (eg plaster above and floor tiles below), the acoustic will be a problem. If there are a number of conversations going on then the space can rapidly fill with noise as each conversation gets louder in order to compete with the others. The result is bedlam! Where the floor needs to be hard-wearing and smooth the reverberation in the space can be hugely reduced with absorbent surfaces on the ceiling (for example perforated plasterboard) and soft furniture.

Worship BandFor many of you reading this, music in church means an amplified band. In one sense this makes life easier, because by investing in a half-decent AV system you can tailor the amplification to suit the space. But it is still worth understanding ‘traditional’ acoustics, because you will also want the spoken word to sound as natural as possible.


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Acoustic

‘Traditional Acoustics’Sound is a form of energy that is transferred by movement of the air, in sound waves. In the open air, a voice or other sound can be heard clearly if you are close enough, and will stop as soon as the voice stops. By contrast, a sound inside a room will be reflected many times between the different surfaces of the space, with the reflections arriving later than the direct sound. Acousticians refer to the ‘reverberation time’ of a space which is measured in seconds.

Different surfaces will reflect different amounts of the sound energy that hit them – ranging from almost 100% for the smooth hard surfaces in a tiled shower, to almost nothing for an absorbent surface like the lining of a recording studio. Soft surfaces like carpet, cloth upholstery, curtains, hangings are all acoustically absorbent, as of course are people. The issue is to get the right combination to allow for the appropriate effect.

To project an unamplified voice into a large space you need hard reflective surfaces behind and on the floor (and, preferably, ceiling) immediately in front of the speaker, giving the voice more carrying power; drapes behind and carpet in front will ‘kill’ the sound. For speech to be audible in a large space you do not want too much reflection, which will give you a long reverberation time and too much echo; but nor do you want no reflection, because this will give the space too ‘dry’ an acoustic.Similarly, for congregational singing you need some sound reflection, because without it people cannot hear themselves, and become reluctant to sing – which is why the bath is a good place to sing (at least for the singer…).

Separation – Rock Concerts and Quiet PrayerAs we have said, sound is a form of airborne energy. There are therefore four principal means of creating separation between adjacent spaces. Let’s imagine two adjacent rooms separated by a wall; the options are as follows:

Ensure the two spaces are sealed from one another – any cracks or holes (typically made for routing cables and pipes) will let most of the sound through, making the rest of the construction irrelevant.

Make the partition heavy, because the heavier it is, the more energy is absorbed in the sound passing from the air of the first room, into the partition, and then into the air of the second room.


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Acoustic Make the two surfaces of the partition work independent of one another, for

example with ‘resilient bars’ between the plasterboard or other lining and the frame structure of the wall; these act like shock absorbers.

If the wall has a framed structure the voids should be filled with an appropriate insulation to prevent them acting to amplify the sound, in the same way that the body of any stringed instrument does.

Movable PartitionsMovable walls that slide and fold away can be fantastic for making flexible use of a building. Many of these can provide impressive levels of acoustic separation, such that a loud voice in one space is not intelligible in the next. This is really very impressive, but it does come at a cost. You can spend £10-£20,000 or more – ie the cost of a nice new car – on a set of such doors, and that may be money very well spent if it gives you an appropriate benefit. But because they are trying to do a lot of things at once, these are often quite fragile pieces of equipment, and ideally should only be operated by someone who has been trained to do so; in most cases that is wholly unrealistic, in what is a community building open to all sorts of users.

So the advice is to think hard about whether you really need your partition to provide that level of acoustic separation. Victorian schools often used sliding folding partitions without any of the rubber seals or clever mechanics that are needed to create that sound separation; these don’t create as much sound separation, but are often still going strong 120 years later. We can promise you the same will not be true of the modern partitions you may wish to install…

Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC)

The DAC is required to advise on all faculty applications, and will be available to advise on all matters relating to the project and to the application before it is submitted.

Archdeacon will consultwith DAC

The Chancellor s decision on the Faculty application will be based on the advice of the DAC and others, and any other representations during28-day public notice

Are you building a new church on a new site?

Yes

No

Is your building a church?

Are the works contained in List A? Yes

No permissions

required

No

Are the works contained in List B? Yes

Consultation with

Archdeacon - notice

No

No

Yes

Is your building listed?

Is your church listed?

No

Yes

Consult with DAC

Consultation with Historic England, national amenity societies, CBC

Yes

Listed building consent Works subject to

planning control or Nobuilding regulations?

Yes

Planning application and/or Building Regulation approval

Chancellor Grant of Faculty

Building can go ahead 78

Faculty application

Acquisition of land

involves Church

Commission

Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015

Y

N

Fundraising

This material contains text reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim Hammett,

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A few years before his death in 1996, Henri Nouwen wrote a booklet entitled The Spirituality of Fundraising. This is a warm and wise piece of writing, and is an excellent place to start when thinking about the tricky issues around asking people to support ministry of the church. The booklet is both readable and short, and is available in paperback or as an ebook.

The key idea is that fundraising is not one-way traffic. ‘Fund-raising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission. … Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission. Fund-raising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are not saying, “Please, could you help us out because lately it’s been hard.” Rather, we are declaring, “We have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you— your energy, your prayers, and your money—in this work to which God has called us.”

Nouwen makes us question our relationship with money, and suggests that the Kingdom of God ‘…is where God provides for all that we need. It is the realm of sufficiency where we are no longer pulled here and there by anxiety about having enough.’ He is characteristically honest about what motivates us; discussing the reluctance to talk about money, he says, ‘The reason for the taboo is that money has something to do with that intimate place in our heart where we need security.’

Nouwen roots fundraising in the shared need for community. ‘When fund-raising as ministry calls people together in communion with God and with one another, it must hold out the real possibility of friendship and community. People have such a need for friendship and for community that fund-raising has to be community-building. I wonder how many churches and charitable organizations realize that community is one of the greatest gifts they have to offer.’ And again: ‘Those who need money and those who give money meet on the common ground of God’s love’.

He ends the book as follows: ‘Fundraising is a very rich and beautiful activity. It is a confident, joyful, and hope-filled expression of ministry. In ministering to each other, each from the riches that he or she possesses, we work together for the full coming of God’s Kingdom.’

This material contains text reproduced with some changes with kind permission of Nigel Walter & Jim Hammett,

http://www.churchbuildingprojects.co.uk/P a g e | 2

Fundraising

But what about the Developing World?Nouwen’s booklet is really valuable for its principled look at how money and spirituality relate. However, some within the church may well be deeply uneasy about spending money on bricks and mortar, when the same money could do wonderful things in other parts of the world where the needs are more basic, where the provision of sanitation and drinking water is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. These are important questions to address, and on which to try to reach a settled view in your church community.

A point worth making is that it is not what is called a zero-sum game - God is a God of abundance. Investing (money / time / energy) locally does not mean that you have to ignore the rest of the world. Some churches address this by committing to give away a proportion of all the money raised for their project.

Further HelpMy colleague Eleanor Stead (prev. Gill) facilitates workshops when requested by dioceses and has published funding guides and a short introductory video here - http://www.parishresources.org.uk/resources-for-treasurers/funding/.

She also runs workshops on legacies and there is a section on what you could be doing in your parish here http://www.parishresources.org.uk/legacies/. This potential long-term funding may not fund next week’s project, but in the longer term is a source of funding which needs attention.

You will also find some helpful information about Church Friends’ Schemes on Parish Resources on http://www.parishresources.org.uk/friends-schemes/

There are a number of people who specialise in helping churches with fundraising; in certain well-defined circumstances it may be appropriate to pay someone to assist this process. When considering whether to work with someone of this nature it is essential to establish how they would approach your particular project, how closely they are aligned with your objectives and where they see the possibilities. As with other appointments, the key is to find someone whose approach fits with your own.Grant-giving trusts tend not to be to take a positive view about making grants where significant fund-raising consulting costs are incurred.

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Using the budget template

Having a robust system of budgeting is vital to the success of the project. That not only consists of income and expenditure but ensuring you have sufficient cashflow to pay for your project.

There is an Excel template that you can use for a 3 year period leading up to a build and for 2 years afterwards (to demonstrate sustainability of the project). See below for some notes on using this template.

You may as a church want to appoint someone in addition to your church treasurer who will manage the finances of the building project in order to share the significant time required.

Do a major review of your budget at least every year and monitor it on a monthly basis.

If you decide to use the budget template from Churchbuildingprojects.co.uk, this can be downloaded from Parish Resources at www.parishresources.org.uk/buildingprojects/. You can adapt it to suit your requirements.

You will of course need to be familiar with Excel. Please take care not to change formula in the cells which link each sheet together.

Start by entering your opening balance (cell C49 coloured in light yellow on purple tab sheet Year-3). Use the Summary sheet (light blue tab) to build your initial 5 year budgets.


Using the budget template


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How to Raise the

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Church projects will usually be funded from a variety of sources.

Please have a look at Parish Resources http://www.parishresources.org.uk/).

My colleague Eleanor Stead runs workshops when requested by dioceses and has published funding guides here - http://www.parishresources.org.uk/ resources-for- treasurers/funding/ .

She also runs workshops on legacies and there is a section on what you could be doing in your parish here http://www.parishresources.org.uk/legacies/. This potential long-term funding may not fund next week’s project, but in the longer term is a source of funding which need attention.

You will also find some helpful information about Church Friends’ Schemes on Parish Resources on http://www.parishresources.org.uk/friends-schemes/


How to Raise the

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Here is the guidance appearing on churchbuildingprojects.co.uk which you may find helpful:

First divide the task into internal and external funding.

InternalWith internal funding the aim is to tap into the enthusiasm of your own church membership.

1. Capital Appeal: Run a capital appeal via your own membership and attendees. In most cases a substantial proportion of funds will come from direct giving from within the congregation. The key issue is whether the congregation are fully behind the vision for the building. As a rough rule of thumb after 2 years from your initial capital appeal further appeals will tail off by 50%. Get as much gift aided as possible.

2. Regular Giving: Run an appeal for regular donations – on a monthly basis. Sacrificial giving tests our commitment, in the case of a church building project our commitment to being God’s people in a particular place. Once again, get as much gift aided as possible.

3. Sponsored Events: Ask those involved in the church to run their own fundraising activities – a sponsored marathon, a car wash, a car boot sale etc…. These sorts of events may raise relatively modest sums, but will be important in other ways in providing an opportunity to generate enthusiasm in the wider community, and therefore connection with the project.

4. Auction of Promises: This can be a great way of offering your time or skills to others – this could be anything from babysitting and cake-making to two hours with a chainsaw or the use of a holiday home. The point is that everyone has something they can give, and the community benefits of doing these things for one another can be just as significant as the money raised. If you can interest your local MP in your project, how about afternoon tea at the House of Commons…?

5. Online: Raise money from asking anyone you know to set up on line giving systems such as ‘Give as You live’. Register your charity with them.


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6. Declutter: Sell your unwanted items on charity ebay, your local paper or at a place like: www.nmauctions.org.uk. Ask a member of the church to manage the ebay sales on behalf of everyone.

7. DIY: Offer a paid service to friends. Ironing, cleaning, washing, baby sitting….8. Borrowing (Internal): Sometimes members of your congregation may

have access to capital that they are willing to lend at low or zero interest. This of course needs to be paid back, but can perform a valuable role in providing bridging funding while regular pledged giving comes in.

9. Sale of Property: In some cases it makes sense to dispose of another building you already own, particularly one that is off-site, and to invest the money in improving your main building. Where possible it is best to sell the leasehold, even if on a very long lease, rather than the freehold – even if you can imagine no use for a building, future generations may well thank you.

For details of these and their phasing in a long term fundraising plan, refer to the Budget Template spreadsheet referred to elsewhere and which is available on www.parishresources.org.uk/buildingprojects/ on Parish Resources.

ExternalThe deliberate aim with external funding is to go outside your immediate contacts to a wider constituency.

1. Grants: Approach trusts and take on a trust administrator part time to do the work of completing forms and sending them off. Note that grant-making bodies will usually want to see substantial progress being made in direct giving, because this demonstrates tangible commitment to the project. For details of grant-making bodies see http://www.parishresources.org.uk/wp- content/uploads/Charitable-Grants-for-Churches.pdf.

2. Landfill Tax: Approach Community landfill trusts if you are within the radius of a landfill site. Tax on landfill waste was introduced in 1996 as a means to reduce the amount of landfill waste and to promote a shift to more environmentally sustainable methods of waste management. The tax then is redistributed in grants in the range of £5,000-£75,000; these are awarded with the aim of benefiting the lives of people who live close to landfill sites through support for community, conservation and heritage projects. Generally you need to be within 10 miles of a landfill site, and note that there may be more than one provider of grants in your area. Note too that timing is important with these grants – the


How to Raise the

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grant needs to be sought once the project costs are well defined, but before a contract for the works is entered into.

3. Commercial Giving: Approach companies that may have an interest in a specific element of your build – sports, community, youth, disabled etc…You can call these ‘Corporate Supporters’. Some companies support employees with a matching funding system. You can also ask for gifts in kind from local stores, companies and organisations.

4. Locality: Run events that engage the community around you – that widens the net of the money you are trying to attract and also engages the community with the project.

5. Section 106 Money: This is money paid to Local Authorities by developers of large projects to provide community benefit. Whether your Local Authority has any Section 106 money to give will depend on your location, and what major developments have been constructed in the last few years. If they are, they will be keen to dispense this money, as it is embarrassing for a Local Authority to have to hand it back to the developer if it remains unspent. To qualify for these monies, you will need to show a genuine community benefit – an example might be a day-care facility for young children. With the current political emphasis on ‘the Big Society’ (see section 2.2). Local Authorities are increasingly open to working with churches, who have often been faithfully doing this sort of essential work within communities for generations. It is important, however, to understand any strings that might come attached to any grant.

6. National Lottery: Some churches are happy to take National Lottery funds, and use them for church purposes; others, particularly those concerned with providing debt advice and wishing to question our society’s attitude to gambling, may not wish to take this money. You may well have different opinions on this within your church membership, and it is important that you think through this issue together.

7. Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: Grants are available for urgent repairs to listed buildings that are in regular use as public places of worship. Note that these grants are dispensed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, replacing money previously given out by English Heritage. You will need to provide access for the general public to see the grant-aided work at least 40 days a year. You will also need to agree and implement a maintenance plan. Given that there is a high demand for grants, grants will tend to prioritise the higher grades of listed building.


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Some thoughts on the Politics Of Giving…There are no two ways about it – in most cases a substantial proportion of funds will come from direct giving from within the congregation. It is interesting to see this work across a number of different churches – often the most generous giving is not from those congregations with the wealthiest demographic. The key issue is whether the congregation are fully behind the vision for the building.

During the life of a project you may well launch a series of appeals, and it is important that there is a tangible sense of progress from one to the next – for example appeals might be made at the launch of the proposals, at planning, and after tenders are received. Before any appeal is made, however, it is often good for the church leadership (PCC etc) to make their own pledges – this sets a powerful example to others at the initial appeal.

It is often the case that a building project is a training for the congregation in sacrificial giving, and that general levels of giving resume at a higher level after the project is complete.


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