Community / New dawn on the horizon for Nesting chapel as meeting scheduled on future use
A DROP-in event is being held at the Methodist Chapel in Nesting later this month to discuss proposed ideas for the future of the building.
Social housing is one idea which has been floated, as well as childcare.
This comes after an ‘invitation for ideas’ campaign facilitated by the Community Development Company of Nesting (CDCN) last year encouraging the community to suggest ideas for the building’s future.
This would be as an alternative to it potentially being sold to a private buyer.
The chapel, built in 1857 and extended around the 1930s, struggles to remain viable and it is set to be sold off.
Mark Ratter, development officer for CDCN, said: “A total of 14 responses were received, with ideas including social housing, childcare, café/community fridge, soft play centre, dentist, social location for retired people, workshop/repair centre and others”.
“More recently, CDCN have been informed by the Methodist Church of a revised professional valuation of the building”.
With both the invitation for ideas responses and the building valuation now at hand, CDCN will be holding an event at the chapel in South Nesting on Sunday 26 March from 3pm – 6pm to communicate these ideas to the wider community, particularly to any groups interested in purchasing the building to provide one or more of these ideas.
CDCN have also contacted respondents who provided contact details along with their ideas for the chapel to invite them to represent these ideas at the event.
Ratter added: “Whilst CDCN have undertaken this Invitation for Ideas campaign in a purely facilitative role up to this stage, CDCN directors have now assessed all community ideas individually with the building valuation in mind, whilst also considering factors including financial sustainability, approximate costs of renovation and maintenance, perceived community demand, avoidance of duplication of services/ facilities, and perceived long-term benefit to the community”.
As a result of this assessment, CDCN is potentially interested in further investigating the feasibility of social housing.
However, CDCN’s pursuit of this idea will also depend on whether any other group(s) come forward to pursue any of the identified ideas for the chapel building.
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