Vision Project

Securing St Laurence's - Serving the community

Catalyst

In November 2007, the Quinquennial Inspecting Architect, noted that "the floors in the nave continue to deteriorate and that replacement would be necessary before long" and that "the lead work to the Lady Chapel roof has been patched on a number of occasions, and is coming towards the end of its useful life ..... complete re-leading is likely to be required in the foreseeable future." Coupled with these two major issues, the ageing heating system and lighting systems have become unreliable and expensive to maintain and expensive to run. In response to these problems, the PCC launched a campaign in October 2008, the Vision Project, that would engage the public in the conservation of the building and facilitate the new building services required in a community building in the 21st century.

Consultation

Given the magnitude of the Vision Project and its potential impact on the Ludlow community, the first phase of the project involved extensive consultation and engagement. This involved seeking the views of a representative "expert" panel of stakeholders (adopting a Delphi methodology), members of the Electoral Roll and the wider populace of Ludlow (based on a mail drop to 4,500 households). Suggestions were received from over 700 individuals. Consensus was achieved across the three groups regarding the most important changes that they would wish to see in St Laurence's, giving rise to the objectives for the project as stated below.

Objectives

• Conserve the fabric - including the replacement of roof coverings; a major phase of stone masonry repairs; conservation of stained glass, paintings, misericords and monuments.

• Create better facilities for wider community use - a building that meets the needs of the current users and allows greater use by the whole community, improving sustainability.

• Create an ordered interior - providing clarity, more open space, free from clutter, more accessible and therefore enhancing the heritage.

• Provide a wide range of opportunities for learning and participation.

as well as replacing basic services including lighting, audio systems, heating, flooring and amenities.

The Current Scope

The Vision Project aims to enhance the provision of facilities afforded by St Laurence's Church in its three inter-related roles relating to faith, the wider community and the arts. As a place of worship, the church is central to the mission of the Parish. For the wider community it is not only a place for community activities, but also for learning, being a major educational resource for large numbers of children from across the West Midlands. It also plays a major role as an arts venue, particularly for musical activities. The project aims to enable better use of the current church plant i.e. the historic church building and No.2 College Street, without undertaking unnecessary new construction.
Having completed the first round of consultation (the process of consultation will be on-going for the duration of the project), work is currently focussing on the preparation of documents necessary in relation to funding applications and securing the necessary approvals. These include Statements of Significance and Need, Condition Surveys on all the properties owned by the Parish, a Conservation Statement for St Laurence's and a Mission Action Plan for the Parish, as well as a Feasibility Study and Options Appraisal. In addition, specialist reports have been produced on the stained glass, monuments, paintings, textiles etc.

Following rigorous selection processes, Arrol and Snell of Shrewsbury have been appointed as both project architects and retained conservation architect. Through a similar process we have appointed Comptons as our professional funding advisors.

Funding over the next Five Years

The total cost of the project is approximately £4.3 million; it is being approached as three separate tasks:

Target 1 Urgent minor works £76k - Complete Spring 2012
Repairs to monuments, stained glass, monuments, painting and installation of roped access systems

Target 2 High priority roof and stone masonry repairs £250k - Works on Site 2012
Replacement of lead roofs to St John and Lady Chapel, repair of pinnacles chancel and nave, repair of hood mouldings north aisle

Target 3 Major conservation works and improved facilities £4 million (indicative cost)
Conservation of stained glass, monuments, misericords, organ, chancel roof, textiles, wall paintings and tower stone masonry, as well as renewal of heating, lighting and flooring £3.3 million
Implementation of learning and participation plan £375k
Improved offices, liturgical re-ordering and music resources £300k

The funding for target 1 has been provided by the Conservation Trust for St Laurence's. Works are currently underway and will be completed by Spring 2012.

A grant application has been submitted to English Heritage for the works in target 2. An initial offer of £45k has been made. Stage 1 of the two-stage application process will be completed in January 2012. Meanwhile the Funding Working Group is focusing on raising the outstanding funds.

We intend to submit a major application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in the summer of 2012, again this is a two-stage process. The key priorities in relation to an HLF bid are conservation, learning and participation. Accordingly, the bid will seek funding for conservation works that include roofing, stone masonry, stained glass, wall paintings, the external environs, monuments, misericords, organ, paintings and rainwater disposal. A second major component of the bid will relate to learning and participation. This will include provision for an audio guide, exhibition, film, general guidebook, interpretation boards, meeting/classroom, stained glass booklet, visitor leaflet, website improvements and a part-time Learning and Participation Officer. The bid will also include a portion of the costs associated with access and other improvements, in support of learning and participation. These will relate to floor, heating, lighting, public address system and toilets.

There remain those portions of the project which do not meet the HLF criteria. So, in parallel with the HLF bid, we shall be engaging Comptons as our professional funding advisors to assist us in securing the remainder of the funds needed. These relate to the remainder of the costs associated with access etc., part of which is to be sought from HLF as indicated above. In addition funding will be sought for kitchen/servery, liturgical re-ordering, office/meeting rooms, seating.

For further information please contact

Shaun Ward Vision Project Co-ordinator
The Parish Office
No.2 College Street
Ludlow
SY8 1AN

0560 2092043

or by email:

vision@stlaurences.org.uk

Download the lastest Vision Newsletter here