St. Andrew’s Church, Lowestoft in the community of Roman Hill is today celebrating the grant of just under £½million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Community Building Programme towards its Access All Areas Project – making it one of the first Churches in Norfolk and Waveney to extend its use in this way, and one of just 55 projects around England to receive money from this programme. This grant joins £105,000 given by local partnership ‘Lowestoft Together’, £40,000 given by the Diocese of Norwich and £15,000 from Suffolk County Council, amongst other funders, who together have given a total of £610,000 towards the trail-blazing £680,000 scheme.
The Access All Areas project will see the total transformation of the existing church facility so that it can be used for a wide range of purposes and become a hub for the local area, one of the most deprived in Suffolk. The scheme is building on over 100 years of active church involvement in the local community, extensive consultation, the award winning community garden project completed in 2004 and the many activities for all ages that already happen from the building.
By the time the project is finished there will be two halls, a community café, meeting rooms and many new activities for people of all ages. Ideas for future activities include a drama group, holiday events for children and young people, a place to sit and be quiet, an information and advice area and other activities that will involve young and older people working together. The building will become a place that brings the community together.
In addition to providing many new activities the project will also allow the playgroup to provide new sessions and other existing activities such as parents and tots and Cocaine Anonymous to expand.
The Revd Mark McCaghrey, Vicar, said, “This is a pioneering project which will help many people in the local area. We are thrilled that the Big Lottery Fund has caught the vision for our project, and are helping us to fulfil our mission in the local area. We are looking forward to bringing the community’s dreams into reality and working with people across the area to make it a success.”
Gill Gabb, Churchwarden, said, “We are grateful for this investment in Roman Hill and excited about the changes the project will bring to peoples lives.”
The Ven. David Hayden, Archdeacon of Norwich, said “I am delighted that the changes to St Andrew's in Roman Hill are going ahead. Across the diocese we are encouraging wider use of our church buildings. The Vicar and church members have been working very hard to make their church building more suitable for many different activities. This is not only good for Roman Hill but also for Lowestoft and an encouragement to other churches in the Diocese of Norwich to take a bold and fresh look at how they can adapt to open up their building for the wider community.”
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