Our Here 4 Huntingdon Renovation Project
Helping us to better serve our local Huntingdon Community
Click Here to See Our Here 4 Huntingdon Photo gallery
November 2022 Update - Some thank yous
Phases 1-3 are complete, which would not have been possible without the generous support of church members, our friends, and also eighteen funding bodies. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make the project a reality.
PDF document giving a list of funding bodies who have supported us with grants and donations.
June 2022 Update - Phase 3 Complete - Phase 4 Begins
We are pleased to confirm that the new extension to our church has now been completed, is open and is being used - as the photos above show!
The new extension, which has a glass frontage, blends very well with our original church which was built over 140 years ago. It provides us with a new main entrance , a large multi-purpose area, a private interview / meeting room, 2 new toilets, and a large extended kitchen.
Indeed the new extension played a vital role in our recent well-attended Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.
But the fun isn’t over yet!
We still have the final phase - Phase 4 - of our project to plan and complete.
This will see our main church Sanctuary area improved and upgraded so that it becomes a modern and welcoming worship area with the added benefit of providing our community with a venue perfect for music concerts, performing arts, exhibitions, presentations, and larger meetings.
February 2021 Update
We are pleased to confirm that the new extension to our church has now been completed.
Although the original completion date was in July 2020, the Covid pandemic together with some unexpected major problems which came to light when the site was being prepared during the first few months of the project, caused the unavoidable delay. We are grateful to Swift Building Contractors Ltd who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the extension has been completed at the earliest possible date, and to a very high standard of workmanship.
We hope to be able to re-open our church including the new extension, kitchen and meeting room , just as soon as we are able, and we will make sure that we give as much advance notice as we can on our Facebook and web pages.
We will be purchasing new furniture for the extension in the coming weeks and we also hope to be able to fully equip the new kitchen.
We still have the final phase 4 of our project to plan and complete, hopefully in 2022. This will see our main church improved and upgraded so that it becomes a modern and welcoming worship area with the added benefit of providing our community with a venue perfect for music concerts, performing arts, exhibitions, presentations, and larger meetings.
The new extension, which has a glass frontage, blends very well with our original church which was built over 140 years ago. It provides us with a new main entrance , a large multi-purpose area, a private interview / meeting room, 2 new toilets, and a large extended kitchen.
We have published a series of photographs from which you can appreciate both the size and high standard of the extension, and we hope that we will be able to welcome you and your friends and family as soon as we are able, later in the year.
Exterior shots of the extension, from the church car park
Interior shots, looking at the front and back of the extension
More interior shots
December 2020 Update
Many local residents and visitors to the town will have seen that the Methodist Church has been undergoing a major redevelopment in recent months. This is Phase 3 of the major building project to repair, improve and expand our premises so that we can continue to provide an important support hub and flexible town centre facilities to meet the growing needs of our local community.
Phases 1 and 2 repaired and improved some of our existing premises and our ambitious Phase 3 will provide a large extension which includes a new entrance, lobby, multi-purpose open space, enlarged kitchen, toilets, and meeting room.
Phase 3, which we had hoped would be completed by the end of November 2020, will now take a few more weeks. Although all the internal work on the main contract will be completed this month, Anglian Water have only recently informed us of their decision which requires us to install a large underground rainwater holding tank in the car park. This is to ensure that should there be an exceptional rainfall over a short period in the future which could overwhelm the existing street drains, the water flow from our church roofs will be regulated. This work which will mean an extra cost of several thousand pounds will now be undertaken in the new year.
In addition to the main contract which will cost around £500,000, the professional and legal fees together with the unexpected costs such as the discovery and controlled removal of the old asbestos lagged pipes and contaminated soil, and the water holding tank, will take the final overall cost to around £600,000.
Our church members and friends have raised the amazing total of £186,000 towards the whole project cost, with the balance coming from generous donations from various Trusts and charities. These include the Freemen of Huntingdon and the FCC Communities Foundation who have both provided us with large grants. FCC Communities Foundation is a “not- for- profit” business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Unfortunately, the restrictions imposed by Coronavirus mean that our own groups, local residents and community groups will not be able to fully enjoy the exciting new facilities until 2021, but our minister Rev James Bamber assures everyone that the church will be fully open just as soon as the regulations allow.
October 2020 Update
This is Phase 3 of the major building project to repair, improve and expand our premises so that we can continue to provide an important hub and flexible town centre facilities and support to meet the growing needs of our local community.
Phases 1 and 2 repaired and improved some of our existing premises and our ambitious Phase 3 will provide a large extension which includes a new entrance, lobby, multi- purpose open space, enlarged kitchen, toilets, and meeting room.
Phase 3 will cost around £500,000 and the church members have raised over £100,000 towards the whole project cost, with generous grants being made by various Trusts and charities including the Freemen of Huntingdon. In addition, the FCC Communities Foundation has provided £87,000 to meet the costs of the new heating system, electrical installations, and internal decorations.
Rev. James Bamber, who is minister at Huntingdon Methodist Church (HMC) and a member of the Project Steering Group, said that the Church`s vision for the future began to take shape 8 years ago. The opportunities which the new Phase 3 extension and facilities will provide for the church, local groups, and our neighbours in the community, will be very exciting for everyone.
Rev. Bamber added that HMC is extremely grateful to all of the Trusts and charities who were impressed by our plans and who have provided some very generous grants to enable the vision to become a reality. The significant funding provided by FCC Communities Foundation was particularly important because it enabled the church to reach its target of £500,000 and commence work on the project.
FCC Communities Foundation is a “not- for- profit” business that awards grants for community projects through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Swift Construction Ltd, from Biggleswade are the main contractors, and although the work which commenced in November 2019 was due to be completed in June, the Coronavirus pandemic has delayed the completion until November 2020.
Swift were however able to make good progress before the March lockdown with the site being cleared, old buildings being demolished, the footings, concrete base and steel framework being completed.
The existing exterior wall of the church which will become the interior wall of the new extension is also being cleaned and restored by a specialist stonemason, because it will become a feature in its own right. We are also taking the opportunity to restore the original commemoration stones laid in 1878 when the church was built.
Swift were able to restart in a Covid safe environment in June and are now at the stage where all the main external and internal construction work has been completed. The heating system and plastering have been finished and work is now underway to install the new kitchen, toilets, and electrics before starting on the decoration and flooring.
The front elevation of the extension will be mainly glass and this is due to be delivered and installed at the end of October. This will be one of the final parts of the project to be completed.
Although work on the project is scheduled to be completed by mid-November, neither HMC nor our regular and new external user groups are likely to be able to fully use our premises because of the Coronavirus Health and Safety restrictions and requirements. We will be guided by both HM Government and the Methodist Church requirements, as to how and when we can begin to meet and use our premises again.
Phase 3: March 2020 2nd Update
Following a couple of hectic days and regular discussions with us, David Smith (managing director of Swifts Construction Ltd) has just taken the decision to cease work on our project so as not to put his workers at risk from Coronavirus. We fully support David and his team in this decision.
Whilst it means that our completion date will now be later in the year, the well-being of the Swift Team and their families is of far greater importance. As many of us have come to know David and his team since November, we now regard them as part of the HMC family rather than “the builders”, and we are fortunate to have them working on our project.
The work which the team could have been doing in the next few weeks is very limited. The scaffolding company who were booked to come on site this week have cancelled, and most suppliers of the essential building materials have also closed down in line with Government recommendations.
As you will see from the latest photographs the team have made some rapid progress in the last few weeks. The steel framework has been completed, the walls are on the rise and the first of the roof timbers have been fitted. We can now start to appreciate just how big the new extension will be.
Leonore’s report from the H4H October workshops summarised everyone’s suggestions about the internal design and layout of both the new extension and the existing church sanctuary. Decisions will be made later in the year by our Church Council, once Coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, as to what will be included in the final phase of the project which we hope to undertake in 2021.
Some more photos:
Phase 3: The New Extension, November Update
Phase 3 of our redevelopment project is now underway. Swift Construction Ltd from Wyboston are the main contractors and they have already got their site set up and the side of the church cleared and ready for action.
The side fire exit door by the kitchen and toilets must not be used because it opens onto the building site. In an emergency the exits from the church front doors and the hall side door should be used.
The heating engineers are due on site during the week commencing 11th November, and they will be installing the new central heating boilers in “Annie’s Room”, which is the small room above the vestry.
This will mean some possible disruption to groups and events in the hall and church sanctuary over the next few weeks as the new boilers are brought in and connected to the gas, water and electricity supplies. At some point the heating will have to be turned off whilst everything is connected to the new boilers, but we will keep everybody informed as to how and when this will happen.
Swifts will also be demolishing the men`s toilets in the next week although the ladies will not be affected. This means that men will either have to use the toilets at the front of the church or the accessible toilet by the side entrance into the hall.
If you are coming to an event at HMC by car we strongly recommend that you allow extra time, and park in one of the town centre car parks. There is only very limited space in the carpark.
We will keep you informed of what’s happening with regular updates throughout the contract.
What is the Here4Huntingdon Project?
We launched the Here4Huntingdon (H4H) project to redevelop, extend and refurbish our premises which are situated in Huntingdon High Street. When completed, we will be better enabled to continue to be a vital and growing Christian presence in our local Huntingdon community, as well as meeting the growing needs of our church family.
We decided at the outset that the project would be delivered in 3 main phases to minimise the disruption to the existing life of the church, the groups who use our premises and our neighbours.
Phases 1 and 2 completed
Phases 1 and 2 have been successfully delivered and paid for at a total cost of £297,751. Phase 1 included the re-roofing of the original church sanctuary and the rebuilding and restoration of part of the front façade. Phase 2 centred on the total redevelopment of the rear hall, ancillary rooms and toilets, including new heating, lighting, windows and floors.
Phase 3 launched June 2018
We launched Phase 3 in June 2018 and this will provide major improvements to the current multi-purpose worship area (the church sanctuary) and will build a new side extention and entrance lobby on the spare land along the west side of the church.
For more information: