Spring start planned for £350k Swaffham Methodist Church renovation work
Work on a £350,000 project to renovate and improve facilities at Swaffham’s Methodist Church is set to begin this spring, officials have announced.
Tenders are currently being sought for the work and project leaders say they hope to be able to appoint a contractor in the next few days.
It is hoped the scheme will be start after Easter and be completed before the end of the year.
The announcement follows a four-year fundraising campaign, through the church’s Pinnacle appeal, to generate the money needed to transform the interior and facilities of the church, which celebrated 200 years of worship in 2013.
The work, which has been supported by a host of local and national funding bodies, also includes plans to replace the roof of the Grade II listed building, which leaders believe will last for another two centuries.
Officers say the work is necessary to help them meet the needs of a growing congregation and town community.
Managing trustee Sarah Rodgers said: “This is a massive undertaking for us. It has involved a lot of team work and a lot of prayer.
“The interior of the church will be transformed and we will be able to offer state-of-the-art resources to people of all ages and interests.
“Swaffham Methodist Church is known for its hospitality and we will continue to be a safe place of welcome and encounter.”
While the building work is taking place, the church congregation will move to shop premises near the London Street site, where they plan to open a Traidcraft charity outlet as well as conducting regular services and meetings.
Former town mayor Anne Thorp, who is also a church steward, said: “We believe we are on a journey that God has mapped out for us.
“We want to offer our support to the local community in as many different ways as we can.
“It’s an exciting time and we are looking forward to returning to the renewed church building in time for Christmas.”
The church has also appointed artist Eddie Goodridge to create a mural across an interior wall of the church, which will reflect the church’s history and its connections to the town and wider Norfolk community.
He will begin that project once the building work is completed.