In 2008 mains water was installed, our first step towards the provision of much needed toilet facilities in the Church for children and adults. The proposed building would provide for this, together with a meeting room, a kitchen and necessary additional storage space.
The meeting room would provide a space for young children during services giving families the chance to belong and contribute to church life; enable the congregation to meet informally after services for tea and coffee with newcomers and visitors and allow small groups to meet in a beautiful environment.
Some may not use the church very often – maybe not at all. But this historic Grade 1 listed church has stood in Apuldram for around 900 years and it is an important part of the village scene, making an impressive and attractive contribution to our landscape. Apuldram without its church just wouldn’t be Apuldram.
The meeting room and its facilities would be available for community use and to the many visitors who contribute to the upkeep of the church. It would allow more events to be held at the church and would be a practical way to ensure that St Mary’s remained an open church and not a redundant church.
Above all, the meeting room and its facilities would be available to the wider community, in particular as a Heritage Centre. Being situated in an Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) we have many visitors to our historic church. We plan to create opportunities for these visitors, for the community and for local schools to learn about the heritage of the area. Working with the Education Centre of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy we plan to promote and hold heritage exhibitions, arrange and run sessions for visiting schoolchildren and create and promote a heritage trail. The Chichester Museum has agreed to loan items of local social and historical interest to support these events. Local historians would be invited to give talks and run local history workshops.
Copies of St Mary’s church records would be held at the Centre for research into family and local history. Our aim is to help present and future generations to appreciate and therefore conserve their heritage in this historic area.
Report following the open meeting of 9 September 2008
The Proposed Church Building was discussed at the meeting on Tuesday 9 September, held at St Mary’s. The parishioners enjoyed a glass of wine while Clive Ashley welcomed them to the meeting and explained the reasons for the much needed new building. Douglas Briggs, the church architect, said that the plans, which had been prepared in conjunction with the sub-committee, would benefit not only the parishioners but also the community, and would ensure that St Mary's remained an open church.
It became clear as a result of suggestions from the floor that the plans needed some amendments, and these will be incorporated prior to applying for Planning permission to Chichester District Council at the end of the year.
It was estimated that the project will cost about £100,000, and Graham Pound explained that it was planned to set up a charity, Friends of St Mary's Church, Apuldram, to raise funds for the building and also to offer support in other ways. A letter had been sent to Apuldram Parish asking for a grant towards the project, and once the plans were approved numerous other sources of funds would be explored. Graham said that he would welcome any suggestions as to sources of funding.
Apuldram Parish Meeting 27 November 2008
Following discussion at the Parish Meeting it was agreed that a letter should be circulated to all residents of Apuldram asking whether they considered the Apuldram Parish Meeting should agree to support the proposed building.
January 2009
Following the consultation the majority of residents were in favour of supporting the proposed building and the Parish Meeting will in due course make a limited grant towards the proposed building in order to assist the fund raising from outside sources. In the meantime the Architects are looking at the possible need for an arboreal survey prior to submitting the agreed plans to the Council for Planning permission. Obtaining permission is likely to take about three months and then approval will be sought from the Diocesan Advisory Committee.
April 2009
In order to ensure that building work would not damage the root system of a lime tree, an arboreal survey has been carried out. Some pruning is required, after which plans will be submitted to Chichester District Council.
September 2009
Prior to lodging the application for Planning Consent with Chichester District Countil, the architects have submitted pre-application enquiries with Chichester Harbour Conservancy, WSCC Hightways, Chichester District Council and English Heritage. Once responses from these third parties have been received and any issues "ironed-out" planning consent will be applied for.
December 2009
At the end of the month the application for the building was lodged by the architects with Chichester District Council. A decision is expected to be reached within 8 weeks.
December 2010
In the spring planning permission was granted by Chichester District Council. Following this, work started on sourcing funding for the project, at the same time as finalising details for the setting up of The Friends of St Mary’s.
December 2011
The Friends was launched in March this year for the purpose of raising the £200,000 needed for the new facilities at St Mary’s with a very enjoyable Baroque concert.
September 2014
A report by the Treasurer on St Mary’s Apuldram Community Building Project.
The new building will provide a meeting room, accessible toilet and kitchen facilities to provide a community building for use by all. Our church, idyllic in presence and serving the parish for 900 years, needs desperately to be modernised. Our vision is to have ameeting venue to serve the whole area of Apuldram, for example, for youth groups, parish meetings, charity AGMs, tea and coffee groups or lunch clubs for elderly residents. Interest has been expressed by local Yoga and Weightwatchers groups. It will also be suitable for use as a retreat. Toilet and kitchen facilities will provide the basic amenities needed for regular church services, events and weddings for the comfort of our guests, including the disabled.
I am pleased to say that as a result of our fundraising activities we have now raised half the estimated £200,000 cost of the new building at St Mary’s. However, several of the funders have said that they will reconsider our funding applications when certain targets have been reached. There is clearly still a long way to go to raise the balance of £100,000 but in order to reach these targets and raise the balance the PCC has instructed our architects to undertake the detailed structural design and drawings in order to apply for Building Regulations approval from Chichester District Council. When Buildings Regulations are approved the next step will be to prepare the necessary tender information and, once complete, to apply to the Diocesan Advisory Committee to obtain our faculty (formal permission from the Diocese to proceed with the building). We expect to receive tender information from contractors within about a month which will enable us to select a builder and, on receipt of the faculty, to start work on the new facilities.
We have, therefore, reached a key milestone in the project and the task now facing the Friends of St Mary’s is to raise the balance of the funding. We will of course be re-applying to the Trusts mentioned above but also encouraging more local giving, seeking funding from sources within the community, and making new applications to grant-making Trusts so that we can bring this exciting project to fruition.
