Thank you to everyone who attended our drop in event, a parish council meeting or completed our survey since the beginning of the year.
Following the decision by the local Methodist Church to end worship in the church building and put it up for sale, the parish council are pleased to be able to confirm that an offer from the Parish Council to buy the building for the community has now been accepted, subject to contract, by the Church.
An offer from the Parish Council for the St Peter’s Church Centre, paddock and woods had already been accepted and solicitors are making good progress drafting the contract of sale.
Feedback from residents was discussed at the April meeting of the Parish Council and at the Annual Parishoners Meeting in May. Parish Councillors really appreciated the views that had been shared which will inform planning as the parish council progresses with both purchases.
The comments including a range of user needs that will be built into the plans for the two buildings and also some important concerns that Councillors will be looking to address as the project moves forward.
The feedback data collected in a variety of online/offline methods over the period 5th January 2026 to 15th March can be summarised as
- 96% of respondents support the purchase/renovation of the Methodist Church and St Peter’s Church Centre.
- 93% support the Parish Council borrowing funds to progress the purchases and renovations.
- 98% support the vision for the Methodist Church to become a community hub with meeting spaces, a community cafe, better parking and landscaping.
- 91% support the vision for the St Peter’s Church Centre to become a village hall with flexible indoor/outdoor space for large/small events.
- 87% support the proposed phasing of the renovations prioritising the Methodist Church site as a first priority followed by St Peter’s site.
- Event Hire, Community Café, Improved Parking and Clubs Meeting are the most selected features for the Methodist Church.
- Clubs Meeting Space and Event Hire are the most selected features for St Peter’s Church Centre
The Parish Council also collected some invaluable use case information at the engagement event around specific facilities that will be looked at in more detailed planning – as well as working with existing users, particularly the uniformed groups.
Next steps
The next steps for the Parish Council will now be to undertake further due diligence, business/financial planning for the two assets.
Moving forwards further work will be undertaken to secure finances for the project. This will include the Parish Council looking to borrow – particularly to secure the purchase of the Methodist site – as well as applying for grant funding where possible.
Read the feedback
Further analysis of views expressed by residents and users can be found in the engagement report below: