London church appointment for Focus Consultants

St Marylebone Church

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage a plan for a major restoration at one of London’s historic churches.

The Parish Church of St Marylebone, home to the internationally respected Healing and Counselling Centre and innovative NHS Marylebone Health Centre, has been awarded initial support of £700,000 from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop proposals for the £8.6m restoration of the church and the renewal of community facilities. 

The historical Grade I listed London landmark has appointed Focus Consultants as project directors and project managers.  

The scheme is set to include new building work adjoined to the current structure to include a welcome and reception area, additional exhibition space and a café for visitors. In addition to this, extensive repairs and conservation efforts are expected to take place on the existing building. 

Focus Consultants partner Ellie Clarke said: “St Marylebone Church is an important building in London and the team at Focus is very pleased to have been appointed to help with the development in the next chapter of its history.

“We have significant experience of working on such projects and are looking forward to project managing these inspiring proposals.”

Constructed in 1817, the Anglican church located on the Marylebone Road is the third building used for the parish church in the borough’s 900-year-old history. The present church was the venue for the wedding of Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett and the baptism of Charles Dickens’ son. In the 1980s, the Parish took a huge leap in converting the unusable crypts of the church to create a range of complementary facilities for community uses.  

The Rector of St Marylebone, The Revd Canon Stephen Evans, commented: “The regeneration will allow the parish to become a Community Hub which will tell the story of St Marylebone "the great city north of Oxford Street".

The Rector and Parochial Church Council will be partnering the Church Army’s Marylebone Project in providing a Community Café, staffed by women who would otherwise be homeless, Vital Regeneration, an innovative community enterprise project based in Church Street, one of Westminster’s most deprived areas, working with local young people who are not in employment or education, the Building Crafts College in Stratford (which was founded in and had its premises in Marylebone for nearly 100 years) and a host of other individuals and agencies. 

The Changing Lives project will lead to a more sustainable future for the church - creating a vibrant, welcoming hub and enabling visitors to learn more about the heritage of the church and the wider Marylebone area. 

The Focus team is currently working to develop the bid ready for submission to the HLF in Summer 2018. The project is expected to be completed in 2020. 

Focus, which is based in Nottingham, has offices in London, Leicester and Boston in Lincolnshire. This project is being led by the London office. The company has, since 1994, secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It also offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, and sustainable development support.

For more information, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Architects Cox Freeman help create a multi-use church in Ripley

Nottingham-based architects Cox Freeman have helped a Derbyshire church become a hub of activity after managing a complete rebuild of the community facility.

The £595,000 project for Ripley Methodist Church involved demolishing the existing Victorian building and creating a new church and multi-purpose community centre.

The two-storey facility has now been officially opened and is home to a string of community groups for all ages, as well as the church congregation.

“We are delighted to hear that Ripley Methodist Church has become such an important focus in the community,” said Chris Boffin, managing director of Cox Freeman, based in Stoney Street, The Lace Market. “This has been the third church project that Cox Freeman has been involved in, and one that gave us immense pride to work on.”

Using plans originally drawn up by the Nottingham-based Howitt Partnership, Cox Freeman oversaw the project from tender to completion.

“It was a difficult site access wise, as the church was down a narrow road, surrounded by houses, but the project went very smoothly and we are very pleased to have been a part of it. It gives us great satisfaction to be involved in community schemes such as this, which are becoming something of a speciality for us,” added Chris Boffin.

Ripley Methodist Church bookings secretary Brian Rose said a wide range of community groups were now using the church, including a mother and toddler group, a friendship circle for retired people, and exercise and slimming groups. It was also being used for bingo sessions, demonstration evenings and parties - with bookings already being made as far in advance as October.

“We are very pleased with the building, which is being used by several different community groups and is being booked by a number of different agencies and organisations,” said Brian.

The project, which has been the result of several years of planning and consultation between the church and existing and potential users of the building, has created 366m² of space on the ground floor and 58m² of space on the first floor.

Facilities at the Wood Street church include a community hall, rooms and a modern kitchen.