church buildings
place in gently rolling countryside, off the beaten track, surrounded by farmland: in fact just what an English country village should be.
Whatcote community hall W
hatcote is a small village in South Warwickshire. In many ways it is an idyllic
However it is small and not well endowed; in particular there is no village hall. The villagers have to go elsewhere for any kind of gathering. Recognising this problem, the Parochial Church Council decided to make the church building suitable for general community use. It is a fine building, in good condition, and well- placed in the centre of the village. The idea was well received by all, but the implementation took a long time, with a lot of hard work.
It was necessary to install running water and drainage, washing and toilet facilities, disabled access, a kitchen and store cupboards. This also meant considerable re-ordering of the west end of the church, so that it could be used for church services and for other purposes without having to divide it into separate areas. The estimated cost was £70,000.
raffles, etc. are all important, but there is a limit to how much can be raised directly from the community itself. A partnership approach was adopted with considerable support from Warwickshire County Council, Stratford-upon-Avon District Council, The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Heart of England Community Foundation. But these organisations do not provide money just for the asking; they need to be sure that the project is well managed and that it complies with all their requirements. It takes a lot of time and energy to negotiate with each one, to change the project if necessary, and work out the costs.
Obviously this kind of money was not immediately available, and the committee set about trying to raise it by all means possible. Small villages (and large ones too) are familiar with fund-raising activities: bring-and-buy sales, fetes, concerts, lectures,
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The Arthur Rank Centre Environment Trust was also able to help, by applying to SITA Environmental Trust for support under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. SITA operates a landfill site at Alkerton, 4 miles away, and they are empowered to use some of the tax revenue from this site for local environmental projects. This money is tightly controlled by regulations, and the Arthur Rank Centre Environment Trust had to make sure that these regulations and
SITA’s own requirements were fully complied with.
In the end the money was raised, the contractors came and did the job, and the project was finished; it took about two and a half years to do it.
Such a project deserved a celebration to complete it, and in June this year that was done. On the Saturday there was a community celebration, with ribbon cutting, exhibition of village activities, tea and cakes, local dignitaries, speeches, and press coverage (and a little bit of rain!). The Sunday was St Peter’s day, and a good occasion to celebrate the extended use of St Peter’s Church; a special service was held, led by the Bishop of Coventry and attended by many members of the community. Now the job has been done, been done well, and what’s more everyone round about knows about it. Already there are bookings stretching way into the future and the village has a community space at its centre.
John Bennett
Manager, Arthur Rank Centre Environment Trust
www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk
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