Public Consultation
In 2018/19 it was announced to the village that the Church intends to undergo a modest re-ordering inside, maintaining the historic character of the building whilst providing toilet and serving facilities along with flexible space for community use. Over the course of the last four years, this scheme has had to expand in order to take into account the running repairs of the church building, which fell behind during the pandemic. These include loose masonry on the tower and, in addition, the Church of England’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 90% before 2030. Consequently, this means that the scheme now incorporates internal refurbishments, electrical wiring upgrades, a new heating system, and external masonry work.
At this stage, we don’t have complete costings but estimate that, including the increases in the cost of materials, the scheme’s costs have risen from c. £350,000 to between £750,000 and £1,000,000. It has become clear, therefore, that to safeguard the future of the historic church building we need to look beyond the finances and fundraising we had initially expected.
The church redevelopment group (a group empowered by the church PCC), after much thought, have come to the conclusion that the only realistic prospect moving forward is to explore selling the Marshall Rooms with planning permission for a modest property within the confines of the existing building (i.e. no extensions either outwards or upwards). This would also be a prudent decision for St James-the-Less as the Marshall Rooms are currently a significant loss-making asset. However, this is a slightly legally complex matter, as the Marshall Rooms are the property of the Marshall Trust, which is made up of church PCC, as a single managing trustee, and the Diocese of Bristol Board of Finance, which is a single custodian trustee. However, following exploratory conversations, the Diocesan representatives I have spoken to assure me that if all the legal affairs relating to the charity commission and planning permission are in order, they will support the sale of the building and not seek to retain any of the income from themselves. This means that the income from the sale would be being invested directly into the parish church for the benefit of the village.
I know there is a strong emotional attachment to the Marshall Rooms for many in Iron Acton. It was built by residents, and many of the children who have grown up in the village over the last twenty years or so have been part of toddler groups in the hall. This is a proposal we are not making lightly, but in the firm belief that it will both secure the future of St James’s church and make it a far more beneficial community asset the the Church in its current state and the Marshall Rooms combined.
The outcome of this proposed way forward is far from assured, and whilst we have engaged surveyors and architects to explore what might be possible, we want to ensure that when we come to a final decision, we have the support of our friends and neighbours in the village. To that end, a consultation period will be running from November 1st, 2023 – December 17th.
Anyone who wishes to express support for the project or raise any concerns they might have should submit them to:
Consultation, Fromeside Benefice of Churches, 70 The High Street, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS36 1JQ or consultation@fromesidechurches.org.uk