Church hall to make way for new £2m community centre
9:27am Friday 10th February 2012 in News
THE first steps are being taken towards creating a new £2 million community centre in Harwood.
Planning permission has now been granted to demolish Longsight Methodist church hall, paving the way for the development of the new community centre.
The new centre will include a 270-seat area for worship, space for scouts and guides, offices for voluntary organisations, a coffee bar and meeting rooms.
Artists’ impressions of the proposed new building will be revealed next week.
The building to be demolished is the one-storey extension at the rear of the church.
The church itself, which dates back to 1862 and is considered to be of local significance, although it is not listed, will be left intact.
Architect Mushtaq Saleri, from Studio Three Architects, in Liverpool, said: “We will demolish the existing church hall, which is a fairly nondescript 1970s building, and replace it with a new two storey building.
“Longsight is the heart of the community there and this is the most prominent location — although not without its challenges. We are developing something that is quite contemporary, but at the same time recognisable.
We’re not trying to make it look like an old church, but it will fit in and have light and flexible spaces to take it forward for the next few generations.”
The Minister of Harwood Methodist Church, The Rev Ian Smart, said: “This is the first phase of the plan, the redevelopment of the worship area. It will be very much a building to meet the needs of the community.”
The last church services will take place in the hall at Easter.
The changes were first announced in 2007, and in 2009 congregations from the Longsight Wesleyan church and the Tottington Road Primitive church merged. Fundraising for the redevelopment, which will cost around £2 million, has included a sky dive, which raised £10,000.
