Godalming Minster

View Original

Approval for a cafe at Busbridge Church

At a Special Meeting on Monday the PCC unanimously agreed to convert the Church Centre into a Café.

For the past two years the Centre Improvement Group has been working on the plans for the Centre to include a coffee area to create a welcoming environment, not just to the building but also to the church.

The Centre was built in 1975 and is now due for an upgrade to enable the church groups to carry out their evangelistic role fully.

It has been clarified that the church can run a café for parishioners and can widen this to the local community, this would be deemed ancillary use, which is a valid church activity.

The Team has done a vast amount of design, navigated some complex issues and carried out much research including visiting similar projects and the information is nearly complete.

The faculty permission was granted in January and the work has to be completed by 28th January 2022.

 (See Appendix A for the Application and Faculty Documents)

Planning permission for the works has also been granted.

The Centre Improvement Group will continue to oversee the conversion of the building with the aim of an opening in the Autumn.

A new Sub Group of the PCC – The Café Management Team has been formed to look into the policies, procedures for the running of the café, advertising for Cafe Manager, Staff and Volunteers.

 For more information please contact Michael Stubbs via the Church Office.

Plan of the internal layout