My view on the way forward for Felixstowe Methodist Church.
I think that we should sell off Trinity, Trimley and Kirton chapels and base our worship and outreach functions at Seaton Road Church.
My personal view is that Seaton Road premises are best suited to being upgraded so as to reduce our energy bills (and carbon footprint). The two buildings are not ‘listed’ nor are they in a conservation area and are therefore free of planning restrictions.
I think we should employ the services of an architect to work up a scheme for both buildings to include internal wall and roof insulation, an upgrade to triple glazed windows and the installation of solar panels on the roof linked to a battery to optimise and reduce our energy consumption at peak times. (Solar panels would also provide an income stream for any energy we produce that is exported to the grid). (We might be able to relocate the solar panels from Trinity)
We could also consider the long term benefits of changing away from gas central heating to a ground source heat pump system (Using the vertical piling technique as chosen by Bungay Methodist church).
The worship space at Seaton Road is big enough for our current congregation and flexible enough to accommodate more people for larger events.
The plot at Seaton Road also has spare ground to the rear of the church if we want to enlarge the premises at some time in the future.
The upstairs room in the church hall could be converted at little cost to house a church office for our paid staff and volunteers.
We could worship at Trinity until such time as the major works at Seaton Road are completed.
I am aware that the surplus buildings are not ours to sell but the property of the Methodist Church.
Therefore we would need to put together a mission focused development plan application for grant funding showing how we intend to continue serving our community from our upgraded premises.