Development Plans 

PRESS RELEASE

METHODIST PRESIDENT VISITS HALE

On Sunday the President of the Methodist Church in Great Britain visited Hale for the dedication service of a new church and community building.

Speaking at The Vine, the new home of Hale Methodist Church, the Rev Dr Mark Wakelin said that he would be telling people around the country what has been done in Hale.  Speaking to a packed congregation of around 200 people, he praised the design of the building and the hard work which had gone into it to making it a place where God is close and where people can continue to mark important, sad and joyous times in their lives.  Above all, he said, The Vine needs to be a place for the local community where people are welcome whoever they are.

The service marked the opening of The Vine, a new development on the site of the former Hale Methodist Church building which provides a large, flexible and accessible space for church and community activities with meeting rooms and kitchen facilities.  As part of the project, Great Places Housing Group has built Oak Gardens, seven flats which will be made available to first time buyers from the area.

The minister responsible for The Vine, the Rev Kevin Johnson said, “We are thrilled with the building and we have had a wonderful day.  It is great that we have been able to work with Great Places to provide much needed affordable housing for local first time buyers.  We are looking forward to welcoming people of all ages into the building and responding to the needs of the local community.”

-ENDS-

Press contact: Cathy Jaquiss

07983 481 059; cathyj@mcmc.co.uk

Notes to editor

The address of The Vine is Hale Road WA15 9HQ – near the War Memorial and at the junction with Oak Road.  The website is www.halemethodist.org.uk

ON THIS PAGE

You will find useful information, contact details, and links to some of design drawings

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The future of the Church development was decided at a Planning Committee at Trafford Town Hall with all but one member of the Committee voting in favour.

Following the completion of the transfer of the Church and land in March 2011, work will now begin in late August to develop the site into 7 affordable two bed flats, and a new Church and Community space accessed from Hale Road.

 These designs (see links below) reflect the consultations we have had on the new building and discussions in the last few months.

 The congregation at Hale have spent a lot of time over the last three or four years looking at the future especially as the building is in need of ongoing maintenance. A variety of issues need to be addressed according to the Quinnquennial Inspection of Aril 2007. If we were to spend money we did not have, we would still be left with a building that would require significant ongoing maintenance.

At that point we started to talk of a different way forward. We have looked into keeping the present building and finding ways to redevelop with a Partner that would allow us to continue to worship and have community use. We have consulted with our Surveyor and looked at how viable this would be etc. 

We also became aware of the pressing issue of Trafford Councils requirement to provide affordable housing in the Borough and the need in Hale in particular. It was this direction that we then followed, redeveloping the site rather than refurbishing and providing a space for community and space for affordable housing. We, as a Church, actually feel that this idea offers a positive contribution to the local community and something that is currently lacking. Namely a new community space which is fit for the present age and accommodation for people to live affordably.  

 1  Number of apartments reduced from 15 to 7

 2  Shared ownership rather than social rent

 3 Half of Peel Road land made into open space accessible to all

 4 New separate church building with entrance/presence on Hale Road

 5 Arts and Crafts Movement design - brick and slate construction

For more Contact information:

Side Elevations of the new development

Landscape Plan of the site.

Floor plan of the New Development

Ground Floor plan

Kitchen Plan

Retained features of the Development

Comparitive view of the current building (in red) and the new space.

Planning for the future.....

· To be welcoming from the outside through to the inside

· To be less threatening

· To have sufficient space for people to meet throughout the week (not just before and after services), with the possibility of serving refreshments

· To have a building that is connected to the wider community and does not appear to be just for the ‘members'

· To be understandable to people who don't know very much about Christianity or the Church

· To be up to date, relevant and accessible to hearts and minds as well as bodies

· To be open seven days a week!

· To have a worship space that is fit for purpose and meets the requirements of different worship patterns and contemporary liturgies

· To be adaptable for a wide range of uses and activities, not just worship

· To have facilities for people of all ages, specifically babies, children and young people

· To have sufficient and decent lavatories, well equipped kitchens and sufficient storage space

· To use modern technology

· To be warm and comfortable, with some more intimate space for private prayer

· To meet the statutory requirements of the Disabled Discrimination Act

· To be straightforward to look after with minimum costs for maintenance and repairs

· To be energy efficient

· To speak of today and not so much of ‘yesterday'