St Andrew’s Church, Portland

In 2018 Portland parish was struggling to pay their financial contribution to the diocese, and St Andrew’s hall (once of three church halls in the parish) was very under used. So they decided to repurpose the building to create 2 single bedroom flats for market rent (there was already a rental flat above the hall). The PCC instructed a local architect to draw up plans and submit them for planning permission.

Meanwhile, there was a growing housing shortage on Portland, especially for young people ready to leave their family homes. The lack of affordable housing meant that many of them had to move away from the area they grew up in. This affected community cohesion and created employment difficulties.

By the time Dorset Council granted planning permission in June 2021, the vicar and PCC had read the ‘Coming Home’ report, which made them re-considered their motives. Given the housing needs of the Island, they decided that the flats should be for young people, and the rent should be genuinely affordable. They worked through the five values of Coming Home and concluded that the community would be more stable and safe if young people could remain close to their families. They recognised it would be harder to make the homes environmentally sustainable as they were converting a pre-existing building – but they would do what they could, and through good design, ensure the homes were satisfying to live in.

Once condition of planning permission was to increase the off-road parking from one car to three, so the PCC completed this at a cost of £15k from their reserves.  Then they approached local builders for quotes, which ranged from £65k to £110k, and took the highest one as their fundraising target.

Within 18 months they raised a total of £72k. The PCC approached a local housing association, but they would only support the project if they had ownership of the property. The church was clear that they wanted to retain ownership of the building as a community asset. They also considered taking out a loan, but the PCC weren’t willing to take on that long term liability.

The vicar then found a builder who wasn’t VAT registered, who had joined the congregation a few months earlier. He came back with a quote of just £58k! The PCC commissioned him to do the works and they began in early 2023.

Progress went quite well until updated building regulations required two new windows to be put in as a fire escape, and thicker insulation to the ceiling. This meant changing some of the completed work and costs overran – also due to inflation in the price of building materials.  

Completion was put back due to the lack of available electricians, a delay in fitting a new gas meter, and shortage of building materials, which all held up the final inspection for the building compliance certificate.

Bishop Guli officially opened the flats in September 2023, although they still weren’t finished; the first young tenant, a local carer, eventually moved in during February 2024. Work still continues on the interior of the second apartment, however, because the builder abandoned the project and left Portland before completing it!

Grants were secured from several sources:

·       £40k from Dorset County Council’s Local Community Housing fund

·       £10k from Garfield Weston Foundation

·       £10k from the Valentine Trust

·       £10k from the diocese of Gloucester

In addition, Portland Parish donated £12k from the income generated by the original flat above the church hall.  The vicar and PCC members oversaw the project.

The project relied on relationship building by the vicar and PCC, which led to the support from the local council, the mayor, the Archbishops’ Housing Advisory Board. A willingness to change plans in light of the Coming Home report meant that the flats are now genuinely affordable, and providing housing for local people is seen as a ministry in itself.  Perseverance was also critical to overcoming the various setbacks along the way.

The main challenges were due to sharply rising building costs in 2022/23, updated building regulations which necessitated design changes and problems with finding reliable contractors.

There are two new affordable flats for young people in Portland; the church’s reputation in the community has been strengthened, and the PCC has an additional source of income for ministry.