Stories of Transformation
Church land and property are not just assets to manage - they are foundations for thriving lives and communities!
Once we see meeting housing need as an integral part of our mission, everything changes.
St Stephen’s Gloucester
The large old St Stephen’s vicarage was no longer required, and the empty building was becoming an eyesore. A chance conversation paved the way for a new partnership to provide social homes.
St Martin’s Parish Centre, Preston
After St Martin’s Parish Hall complex in Preston closed its doors in September 2019, they decided to build a new chapel and fit-for-purpose community space…
Christ the Redeemer Church, Cambridge
A church in one of the most deprived areas of Cambridge wanted to step up their response to homelessness and teamed up with social enterprise Allia to create a community of six modular homes…
St John’s Church Keswick
A waterlogged section of the graveyard at St John’s was a headache for the vicar, while the town had a dire shortage of affordable homes. Could the first problem provide a solution to the second?
St Aldate’s Church, Gloucester
St Aldate’s is a Grade II listed church built in the 1960s; alongside it was a wooden church hall and large vicarage - neither of which were fit for purpose any more. What would the diocese do?
Kingsley Hall, Dagenham
Kingsley Hall Church and Community Centre (KHCCC) was in need of both physical and missional renewal. It has since been transformed into an integrated hub of housing, community provision, and worship.
St Mary of Eton, Hackney Wick
A Victorian church and vicarage were in a state of disrepair, and an imaginative redevelopment scheme delivered 26 new homes, as well as a new vicarage and community hall - but the PCC weren’t able to provide any affordable housing on the site.
St Andrew’s Church, Portland
Seeing the opportunity to meet local need, rather than sell off their church hall, the PCC chose to raise funds and pay a local builder to convert it into two flats for young people…
St Mark’s Marksgate, Romford
The site of a 1950s church and vicarage was redeveloped to provide 56 affordable homes as well as new worship and community spaces - all at no financial cost to the church.
St John’s Church, Radlett
The postwar church and hall were no longer fit for purpose, and a member of the PCC came up with a plan that led to a whole new church facility, community rooms and six new homes.
Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford and Bishop for Housing