We are applying for funding to upgrade our well-used community spaces to benefit existing users and extend the range of activities we are able to host to benefit vulnerable members of the community.

The church has a Large Hall with a stage that can accommodate up to 80 people seated or 120 standing and has a well-equipped kitchen with full cooking facilities. There is also a Small Hall that seats 24 or around 40 standing and has its own self-contained kitchenette.

The church serves an area from Enfield Chase to Chase Farm Hospital without comparable spaces for community use.

At present the halls are used by a wide variety of local community groups, including a playgroup, a tutoring group for students from deprived social backgrounds, an opera group, a drama group for children, a computer club and a ukulele band. The halls are used by around a 100 people each week from these groups. We prioritize using our community spaces to welcome the elderly people that the church is able to reach including those who were isolated at home during the pandemic, those who are ill, or who have limited mobility, and those with dementia and their carers, as well as those in poor mental health. Every week we are able to offer around 70 pensioners a varied programme of teas, concerts, meals, drama, dancing and a monthly fellowship group. We plan to extend our provision to other groups as well. In January we will begin a warm bank and community café project staffed by volunteers from the church and working in partnership with other organizations.

To benefit our existing users and extend our provision we want to upgrade our community spaces in the following ways.

Large Hall: Stone Masonry Repairs: focused on stonework in poor condition. The main focus of the repair is the Playground side, which is worst affected and used by children.

We hope to allow different groups to make more use of this pleasant enclosed space behind the church in warmer weather.

Large Hall: Window Glazing Improvement: replacement of existing modern Georgian wired glass in timber window with new, fitted with vacuumed glazing (FINEO Glass), and provision of typical details for new joinery. The existing wire glass window to the Large Hall will be replaced with new.

This is essential if the Large Hall is to remain safe and warm.

Kitchenette Flat Roof by Small Hall: Modern roofing membrane to flat roof is to be replaced with new high performance liquid roofing membrane, completed with insulation to improve thermal performance.

This work will allow the Small Hall to be used by a group at the same time a different group are using the Large Hall, as both groups will have access to a kitchen. The state of the kitchenette roof makes it unusable at present.

Our vision at St Mary Magdalene, Enfield is to be a place of welcome for the whole community and particularly for the most vulnerable. These improvements to our community spaces will allow us to improve our care.