Welcome Space is the name of our project to improve the facilities at St John the Baptist Church and introduce more space within the church. Our aim is to make our church as welcoming as possible for those who come here, whether as regular worshippers, for weddings, baptisms and funerals, or for events such as the Patronal Festival, fund-raising concerts, and so on.

At the moment we lack two facilities that would make a big difference to the comfort and quality of welcome: a toilet, and a dedicated space for serving refreshments – a purpose-built servery.

We also lack another asset that would improve our welcome: space. The amount of space to move around in is very restricted. Also, if we have one or more visitors or worshippers in wheelchairs, there is nowhere in the church for them to sit conveniently or safely (either for themselves or for other people’s access).

The Parochial Church Council is working with Arch:angel architects on the plan to give the church all the above facilities. Details and visualisations can be seen on the notice panels in the church. A faculty has now been granted by the Diocesan Chancellor and we are working to raise the funds for this major project.