Since our ‘Making Space Appeal’, we have seen slow but steady progress on Stage Two designs, plans, and costings.

Design:
We employed the services of a designer and have largely concluded the required design work. This process has been informed by her concept image (above). This image isn’t the final design, but was the starting point from which the design has been further refined. For a taste of the kind of thought that has gone into this process, here’s some of the text that was set alongside the above image:

“Wreath Light… A circular Luminaire that reads as a welcoming halo and a symbol of unity. Its warm, even glow centres prayer, teaching, and celebration. Positioned so that, on entry, it visually crowns the cross; reinforcing a clear, Christ-centred motif.”

Plans:
We have made further tweaks to the plans over the last few months. All of these changes are minor in scope, but significant for the building’s practical use. For example, we identified that the pathway to the chapel was going to be too narrow to accommodate the carrying of a casket into and out of the building. So we widened the path and made other associated changes. We have also identified some alternative products that will help minimise cost without significantly changing the building’s visual appearance or practical use.

Council Consents:
With the updated plans, we were able to receive clarification from the council that our prior resource consent (obtained for the used classroom) will also apply to this new build. The building consent, which is much simpler to obtain, should be received before Christmas.

Costings:
The updated plans also enabled us to get a finalised quote from our preferred contractor. This quote is currently progressing through the church approval processes and will be presented to the church at this year’s AGM.

The AGM will be held in the church Cafe, from 7pm, on Sunday the 30th of November. If you call Village Baptist your home church, you are more than welcome to attend.

You can support our ‘Build Back Better’ project by sending donations to:

Account Name: Village Baptist Church
Account Number: 03-0642-0737741-01

Just add ‘Building’ in the particulars, alongside your tithe number (if you have one) as the reference.