Realisation

The Diocese from 1996 until 2001 also employed a second worker, Barrie Allsopp, a local Christian man who had been volunteering at Link-Up with his wife Marrie. Marianne left in 1996, and Judy Talbot and her husband Rev Ed Kessler arrived in January of 1998. Rev Michael Burley, the parish vicar (1997-2003) was a very present human face who seemed to relate very well with volunteers and users.

In 1999 detached youth work began, followed in 2000 by a ‘Cyber Café’ which was created by the insertion of a mezzanine floor (possible thanks to the first piece of major secular fund raising). Lots of other ‘in house’ youth work activities; including a big summer holiday club, film making activities and regular roller discos, were launched.

By this time the building had reached capacity, but there was a demand and potential to deliver more. The existing building was in need of some major remedial work, most pressingly to the roof and the road side end of the hall which was becoming decrepit, with the kitchen and toilets likely to be condemned.

The Trustees agreed to ‘redevelop’ in 1998, and Judy started fundraising. The main funding came from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and was to cover mainly capital costs, and this was matched with 55% from other sources; including the value of the current building/site, other secular trust grants and the revenue monies being spent on staff salaries during the two year funding period.

The possibility of a major tie up with Sure Start for Longhill/ Bilton, incorporating a Neighbourhood Nursery, evaporated for reasons Judy was not aware of at the time. (See Nestor Grove next!)

The plans entailed the demolition of the west end block, the erection of a large new ‘annex’, and the re-roofing and re-ordering of the road side end of the main hall.

Finalising the plans in harmony with the money becoming available was a big challenge. The revenue funding received (matched with Judy’s wages money for the detached youth work) enabled the employment of an ‘economic development worker’, a caretaker, and a ‘volunteer coordinator’.

The building’s redevelopment took place between May and December 2004, with final completion and the official opening in March 2005. During the build period, there were no ongoing activities except the detached youth work. Judy left as Project Manager in October 2004, replaced by Peter Grieve in the December. Rev Maggie Jeavons, replacing a caretaker curate at St. Michael’s, arrived in April 2005.

During the build period another year of ERDF revenue funding was secured and Judy had ensured that all other posts were funded until the end of March 2006. When the building re-opened, there were nine staff employed!

There was some excitement during the re-occupation of the building, but also some disappointment on the part of volunteers and some staff, that some of the things they’d wanted hadn’t been achieved (i.e. a ground floor reception area, a proper ‘volunteer’s space’ and a functioning worship area).

One ex-volunteer, who had come to faith as a result of her involvement at Link-Up, and who gained the confidence there to go and get herself a job, commented that it “doesn’t feel like it’s ours any more”. This was about the balance of paid staff to volunteers, as well as the new building.

The new building took off at a pace during those first Easter holidays, but it quickly became quieter and so it remained during the summer, aside from special holiday activities. In September 2005, everyone found it quite hard to pick up again. There were also new staff in the cyber centre and in the café who needed to settle in. Staff morale began to weaken, possibly due to the realisation that funding would run out for all staff bar the co-ordinator over the next six months.

There was disappointment that some worship ‘services’ did not return, the Sure Start supported baby clinic didn’t return for reasons relating to ‘health and safety’, and the Council’s Area Team moved to ‘East Mount’ (a council supported refurbishment of another, rather less central, ex-school). There were also lots of ‘issues’ around volunteers: what did it mean to be a ‘Volunteer’, did it carry any responsibility and/or confer any special rights over other users?

By 2007 activities included:

IT all age open access and courses

‘Tots Spot’

Holiday Activities

Detached Youth Work

Older People’s exercise, dance, drop in

A Cafe from 10am – 3pm five days a week with good quality meals

A Social Services run club for people with a learning disability

Christian expressions included:

Thursday Morning Communion (ever since St. Margaret’s ‘ceased’)

Occasional services

Local school involvement

Christian presence

‘Exorcisms’

Salvation Army weekly meeting

At this time there was a serious rethink going on around the mission statement; about what it means, “what are we here for”, and how is the language understood. There was discussion about whether the ‘meeting needs’ element of the statement implied being a recipient rather than engaging people in change.

There have been plans for, and attempts at, beginning to create a new ‘Christian expression’ led by Peter, who is an evangelist, as well as a ‘project manager’. It has been very hard to establish anything, and Peter has been constantly diverted towards crisis fundraising.

Most of the staff were under serious threat of redundancy in December 2006, but there was an extension of revenue funding. In March 2008, having eked out those additional funds, and having found various other sources of short term funding, once again seven permanent staff (full and part-time) were under threat of redundancy. This is attributed mostly to the end of a number of major Government programmes, and changes in local funding arrangements (i.e. a move to contracting by the Council and other bodies).