Redevelopment 

Step into the Light-Redevelopment for Christ Church- 

You will see the drawings of the plans for our Church Building further down this page and simplifications made in June 2023 above.  The reason for this is that we believe we are coming to the end of a journey which has lasted many years.

This is an opportunity for you to see these plans and imagine how some of our mission action plan can be enabled through them. Building Development Group, the PCC and the Diocesan Advisory Committee agree this is the best way forward for our Church.

Thank you to all the church members who have contributed to our consultation which ended on November 17th 2019 and more recently in December 2022. This will be used in the applications for grants to make this a reality,

Christ Church obtained the legal permission from the Church of England to go ahead with this work.

Previous consultations over many months have led to adaptation of the earlier plans which were much more radical, having a greater impact on the historic fabric. This is a more conservative approach we have now will be less expensive. However, this still allows us to adapt the interior of the Church for many different uses, to enhance the heating and lighting, making it more energy efficient and keeping many of the beautiful features bequeathed to us by our Victorian and Edwardian forefathers. 

There will be a new entrance through the west wall of the tower and this area will be transformed to be light and airy, with a view straight to the altar. It is why we call our project "step into the light." It is an invitation to you. The entrance will be more welcoming and we will use the existing space more effectively by providing two toilets to the left and a meeting room to the right as you walk through. A kitchen servery will be to the right as you walk into the meeting room. There will be  more space in the chancel, to the right hand side where the pipe organ is now.

What is different in this version of the reordering plans from the last in March 2019?

Over the three years there has been a dialogue between PCC and the Diocesan Advisory Committee to adjust our plans. The PCC has accepted that a more modest scheme is appropriate to our present circumstances. 

We would like to draw your attention to areas where the plans have changed:

• The Chancel will not be extended 

• As the St John the Baptist window is now on the north side of the nave it made sense the baptistry and the music group have changed sides in the nave. 

• The Decalogue Plaque (ten commandments) becomes a more prominent feature in the Chancel.

What will the interior look like?