Colwall Community Church were given the opportunity to the purchase the site in 2017 when the owners of the garage retired. It seemed a God given opportunity to save this site in the heart of the village for the use of the community and the church. After a mammoth and miraculous effort on the part of the church community, supported by members of the wider village community, the church raised the money to purchase the site.
In 2020 we also purchased Laboratory Cottage situated next to the site, to provide a continuous piece of land from the front of the church on the main road to the back of the Silver Street site.
What has happened since the buildings were purchased? Well, the garage site has been used extensively for a variety of community uses. For a while a charity called People in Motion operated from there providing clothes and supplies to refugees in need. It has also been used by the Church as an office, for Sunday services and other events. It has also been widely used by the youth group of the church which a few years ago transitioned into its own charity called Colwall Youth Project with its own board of Trustees. They have continued to use our site and provide a vital service for our young people.
The community use of the Church buildings also includes Tots and Toddlers, Food bank, Community Hub and Warm Welcome in the winter is provides a hot meal Wednesday lunch time each week and in the summer they provider afternoon tea. In addition, a wide range of other local groups also use the buildings.
A planning application was registered in late 2024. The aim of this application is to bring to fulfilment the original vision from when the buildings were purchased. It is intended to provide modern, sustainable buildings that improve the site considerably and include modern eco-friendly forms of energy, sound insulation etc. We will also improve the environment and biodiversity of the site.
The intention with Laboratory Cottage is to change its use to be an administration building with office space, room for our confidential 1:1 meetings and ensure that our space is suitable for users of all abilities and needs.
We believe that the services currently offered from our buildings are important to many in the village and provide vital services that help improve the lives for young and old alike. Our desire is to be able to provide these services from modern, sustainable buildings that serve the village more effectively and in greater comfort for many years to come.
