Church expansion balances needs with building history

A new church is set to be built in Stafford and an existing church redeveloped to cope with ever-increasing congregations.

The developments at Castle Church on the Newport Road, a Grade II Listed building, will see new facilities for increased congregations, an area for the worship band, changes to the pews, a social area and facilities for people with disabilities.

The proposals will also see the existing church hall on High Fields demolished and replaced with a new church building to supplement the existing church.

The proposals for Castle Church have been drawn up by experienced Stafford based ecclesiastical architect Joe Huber, in consultation with experts from the Lichfield Diocese, English Heritage, the Victorian Society and the Churches Buildings Council.

The plans have now been approved by the Lichfield Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, the statutory body responsible for planning matters on Church of England consecrated buildings. They are now open to a period of public consultation before the final decision will be made by Judge Marten Coates in the Lichfield Consistory Court.

The Vicar of Castle Church, the Rev Philip Sowerbutts, said: "We are excited by these plans, which give us new possibilities and flexibility in the use of our building whilst maintaining its integrity and history."

In addition to developing Castle Church, a new church will be built on the Highfields estate. The new church will replace a 1960s hall which is now in a very poor state of repair.

The church is in discussion with a property developer and is considering proposals which will see a new church building built alongside several new homes. To help the scheme a new home is needed for Highfield Scouts, who are tenants on the land with a lease expiring in 2010.

Sowerbutts said: "The condition of our hall on the Highfields has hindered the outreach work we have attempted to do. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide a terrific new church and community facility on Highfields and we want to take advantage of it.

"We certainly recognise the extremely valuable work done by the Scouts in the area and want to help in any way we can to find a suitable site for re-location. Several meetings have already taken place with the Scouts and a local councillor to try and find a solution to the problem before their lease runs out in 2010."

The growth at Castle Church has seen a new Sunday School which began in 2007. This now attracts up to 30 children each week who now meets in two groups. To cope with the increased congregations the church has changed its pattern of services on Sundays. Services at Castle Church begin with a traditional service, using the centuries-old Book of Common Prayer, at 8.45am; and this is followed by an informal contemporary Service at 10.15am. In addition, another informal service takes place at the church hall on Highfields at 9.45am.

Sowerbutts said: "All the services are designed to allow people engage with God in a way that helps them do that. We are excited by the level of growth we have seen over the past year, especially in our contemporary service. But we want to see growth in all areas and allow people to come and meet with God in a way that they find comfortable."