New Beginnings
13 April 2021
Driffield’s Methodist Church was a very large Victorian building which, despite extensive 1960s alterations, was unsuited to current needs, had accessibility difficulties and had become costly to maintain. As bringing it up to date would be extremely expensive, in 2011 the decision was made to demolish and erect a modern user and eco-friendly building. September 2020 saw the culmination of a decade of planning, fund-raising and obtaining of many grants with the opening of our new Church.
After the Church had obtained planning consent for demolition and re-development, reliance on the adjacent Victorian Schoolroom increased dramatically with the transfer of all activities from the main building, as well as its own unique community support, including the thriving Driffield Methodist Playgroup.
Having commissioned a full building survey we prioritised a sequence of refurbishments to make it a more welcoming, sustainable and safe communal space. These include, but are not limited to:
- solar panels on the roof,
- new central heating boiler and controls,
- a newly fitted kitchen,
- renovated toilets, with water-free urinals,
- energy efficient windows, and
- more recently, new hygienic flooring.
The total cost was approximately £150k and this came from existing resources, fund-raising and various grants. This work has received many accolades including the prestigious Duke of York’s Community Initiative and the Church is an award holder in both the project and leadership skills categories.