For many generations, Christ Church has enjoyed providing care and opportunities for people of all ages of our community and church: Toddler Group; Community Lunches; friendship groups; community groups; Open Doors, provision for children’s parties; local interest groups, such as the Beckenham Historical Society; Health and Wellbeing groups such as Pilates and Weight Watchers. As well as church activities for children and young adults; bible study groups for people of all ages, and most recently ENCOUNTER – our worship gathering for people with Special Educational Needs.
But, sadly, we’ve always struggled to accommodate those of us with mobility or sensory needs – our buildings are not at all easy and we desperately want to change that. Jesus came to help and befriend everyone and so inclusion and accessibility lie at the heart of our building plans.
Regardless of whether you are advancing in age, or still at school, or whether your needs are more specific that other peoples’, we want to throw open our doors onto the High Street to you and everyone who needs a friend; a meal; something to do; training; a place to go; or a place to find all kinds of help and enjoyment. Our plans will help us do this better and for more of our community.
Click the button below for our fully animated Launch Brochure or scroll down to see our plans:
• New entrance on the High Street
• New large community/meeting rooms on the ground floor
• Controlled access ‘Changing-Places’ suite for those with extra toileting needs
• New welcome/circulation space on the ground floor
• New dumb-waiter across three levels
• New entrance on the High Street and Fairfield Road
• New small counselling room
• New large gathering atrium on the first floor
• New large hall/worship space on the first floor
• New Sensory Space on the first floor
• New toilets on every level inc. accessible WCs
• Fully flexible and secure zones
• Two wheelchair lifts allowing full access across all levels
• Main kitchen doubled in size and new kitchenettes to all other levels
• New ‘Open Face’ to Fairfield Road and the High Street.
• Enlarged stone heritage window openings allowing greater visibility and natural light
• Heritage inspired rebuilding of existing characterless 1950s extension adjacent to the car garage
• Replacement of failed felt roof with slates/tiles
• The Hall on the High Street will gain an upper floor
• A new worship and activity hall will be created on the 1st floor
• Heritage wooden vaulted ceiling retained with new roof lights for natural light and ventilation
• New complementary glazed link building
• New vaulted ‘feature’ ceiling to upper gathering space with roof lights and solar panels (if permitted)
What Happens Next and How Can I Help?
Well, the “next Step” is happening right now, in fact, just your viewing of our plans helps us fulfil our desire to showcase our Vision to the community. So thank you! Once our month of public consultation concludes at the end of September, we will then be able to progress to a full planning application. That too, will need the support of our community as we ask you to write to the Planning Department to express your support. We hope to get that application in by the New Year and then have planning permission by Easter or Spring of 2024. If successful, we will then be in a position to apply for the charitable grants, charitable loans and personal donations and pledges. Only once we feel secure in our funding will we go out to contractors and commence the work. There’s still a long way to go and a great deal to be done.
But it may be that you would like to financially support our efforts even now. If you would like to know how to make a financial contribution to the professional costs we are already paying, or want to know how to pledge financial support for when our fundraising gets fully underway, please email Sarah Martin, our Treasurer, for a confidential conversation. accounts@ccb.org.uk