Future Plans
Sadly, due to the current economic conditions and recession, it became obvious that the original plans for the new church were too ambitious.
Fortunately one of our parishioners came to our rescue with a revised plan which meets all our specifications and budget, enabling us to retain our present church to be renovated and converted to a much needed parish hall. We are now waiting for the final drawings and costings before we can move forward – watch this space!
St Wifrid’s New Church Project. Item in Newsletter for 22nd Jan 2012
The Project Committee have been regularly meeting to plan the way forward since our last newsletter notice in October, when we told you “The Diocese has decided that the parish priest must remain resident at Hailsham, either in the existing presbytery or in a new one funded out of the sale proceeds from the existing house and garden. They said that the existing church could be extended to cater for a larger congregation and/or community and office facilities but such an extension would attract 20% VAT”.
We have decided that we would try to build a new larger church to seat about 180/190 people. The church building would incorporate the sacristy, toilets, a larger reception area and the Parish Office. We would then convert the existing church to a hall, including a kitchen. We would not think about selling the Hailsham presbytery and building a new one until the church was built.
The two legacies plus the cash raised by the Parish now amount to around £600,000. We thank everyone for assisting in the fund-raising events and for their donations. One committee member designed a plan for a new church and Fr Rory asked a builder friend to give us an estimate of the cost of construction based on that plan. His estimate was £498,000 and the builder also provided us with an architects outline drawing of the plan.
The Committee have looked in detail at this drawing and agreed that some alterations were needed. We have just asked the builder and architect to make a number of changes and to provide a new estimate of the costs.
Virtually the only matter that has been agreed at present is the size and shape of the proposed new church. It will be twice as wide as the present church. We thank Bill O’Rourke who has erected some stakes and tapes on the site to give everyone an idea of the size and location.
We will let you know when the committee has agreed a plan and will then provide all parishioners with full details of the proposals. A parish meeting will be held soon after at which everyone can give their views and decide if this is the best way to proceed. Chairman of Project Committee