With services due to end, we’re working with the church community to protect the Methodist Church as a community asset.
The younger of Tollerton’s two churches, the Methodist Church opened on 14 November 1964. Its construction began on 27 June 1964 but the foundations of the church community were laid in 1961 with the creation of a Sunday school and Sunday evening services in private homes.
For nearly 65 years the church community have been an active part of village life in Tollerton, supporting community events such as the village fayre and providing a community venue to a broad range of groups and causes.
The Church has announced that services will end in July 2025. However the building will remain open for community use.
A building or other land is an asset of community value if its main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future.
The Methodist Church as a community asset
As volunteers at the Methodist prepare for the end of an era, the Parish Council is looking to the future for the church site and what it can offer to Tollerton.
For a number of years we have been working with church leaders and volunteers to ensure that community facilities are financially viable, supporting them with maintenance and also planning for the possibility of closure.
With both the Parish Plan and the new Neighbourhood Plan highlighting the importance of the church building to residents, representatives of the Methodist Church and the Parish Council have discussed options for the purchase of the church.
Through discussions the Parish Council registered the Methodist Church as an asset of community value and over the coming weeks we expect to see that process activated. Rushcliffe Borough Council will publish a six week period for expressions of interest in purchasing the church. Valid expressions of interest will trigger a six month period to negotiate a sale.
Tollerton Parish Council will submit an expression of interest and seek to purchase the Methodist Church.
We’ll communicate more to residents on what that could mean as the process progresses.
We welcome the commitment from the Church that the building will remain open for community use during this period and will continue to work together to ensure the best transition.