St Martin’s Parish Hall, Preston

St Martin’s Chapel/Parish Hall was built in 1955 on land the PCC purchased to serve the growing population in Preston, Lancashire. It was extended in the 70s, but by the early 2000s the building was expensive to maintain and heat. It was rented out much of the time just to cover costs. In 2018 the PCC conducted a parish review, which concluded that there was a clear need for a new, flexible worship and community space on the site.

Plans for a new multi-purpose building were drawn up and costed, but the £240k available in parish reserves was inadequate. The PCC appraised options including selling off part of the site for housing to raise additional funds.  Inspired by a similar redevelopment of a local Methodist Church site, the PCC began discussions with a housing association, Regenda Homes (and their non-profit building arm, M&Y), who agreed to pay the full value for the part of the site where they would build affordable housing. An architect was engaged with a brief to design a new Chapel/Parish Hall, with flexible meeting spaces for hire, and the new housing alongside.

The PCC and Regenda agreed on the designs and submitted them for planning permission in October 2019, a month after they were forced to close the building as it failed the electrical and gas safety inspections. By this point considerable public opposition arose from some of the former hirers, and the pressure contributed to the resignation of the vicar.  Despite the vacancy, the PCC carried the project forward.

Planning permission was granted in March 2020 so more detailed plans and costings could proceed.  Project costs climbed as more consultants were needed and additional costs for removing asbestos before demolition and installing a flood attenuation tank added almost £100,000 to the cost. At this point the Covid lockdowns led to a fall in parish giving, and the PCC negotiated a reduced payment of parish share to the diocese. 

Escalating costs led the PCC to redesign the building and fundraising started to cover the shortfall.  A second planning application was required including a change of tenure for the housing. In total it took 18 months for Preston City Council to issue the Section 106 Agreements, the final part of the planning process required before starting on site.

In 2021, building costs were rising dramatically. Throughout the delays, the project team met with Regenda, M&Y and the consultants to try and keep the project viable. Regenda agreed to purchase the PCC-owned curate’s house adjacent to St Martin’s to allow the project to proceed.

Construction finally began in March 2022, and St. Martin’s Chapel/Parish Hall was handed over to the PCC in August 2023. Critically M & Y held its fixed price from August 2021 until start of site.

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Construction costs were initially estimated at £585k, but the final costs came to £773k. The PCC also paid £80k for demolition of the old building and asbestos removal, plus £64k for fees – totalling £917k. Income to pay for all this came from multiple sources:

£345k sale of land to Regenda
£240k parish reserves (legacies)
£192k sale of curate’s house
£60k reduced parish share
£90k grants, fundraising, parish donations

The PCC’s project team worked pro bono, led by the Licensed Lay Minister, formerly a housing association CEO, a retired project manager with construction expertise, and the Treasurer.

·       Project team had professional expertise and were involved for the entire duration (5 years)

·       Project partners, especially Regenda and M&Y, worked hard to keep within the budget and absorbed some of the increases in building materials costs

·       Strong commitment from the PCC, which included selling off assets and spending out the reserves

Challenges came from:

·       Vocal opposition and attacks on social media by some local residents and hirers

·       Post-Covid inflation in price of building materials

·       Slow turnaround of planning decisions from city council

The local community is benefitting from 14 new homes on the St Martin’s development, comprising five three-bedroom houses and nine two-bedroom apartments. They are all fully occupied, and local people are enjoying the brand new community space for various events, meetings and regular hires.

St. Martin's is busy with two services a week, meetings, courses, and community uses – the redevelopment has injected a whole new lease of life at the centre of the parish. Warm Welcome Space gatherings are attended by 40-50 people per week.