Category 5: Commercial
New build or refurbishment of a commercial building costing less than £3 million.
Project: Construction of a community centre to complement a Grade II listed parish church
Client: Holy Trinity Church Community Group Committee
The building of the Trinity Centre, a community centre adjoining the beautiful Grade II* listed Holy Trinity Church in the 10,000–strong parish of Meole Brace in Shrewsbury, was a community project from start to finish.
The parishioners raised over £1 million needed to build the much-needed centre through many months of local fundraising, by selling the site of their dilapidated temporary hall, through Charitable Trust Fund donations and through generous personal contributions.
With the funds in place, they hired local family firm EJ and GJ Groom. Although Graham Groom and his team won the contract on price, they very soon won over the whole community with the quality and craftsmanship of the work, as well as their excellent site management and collaborative attitude.
“With over half of the total funds raised through parishioners' personal donations and the vested interest of the whole Parish in the project, it was inevitable that the builders would be under close scrutiny from the community,” said Tim Creyke, representative of the Community Group Committee.
“However, the winning team made this a very well-handled job. Andy Richards is a superb site manager, his brother Chris based in head office, looked after the planning, materials and logistics, while their brother-in-law Graham Groom kept a close eye on costs. They were a pleasure to work with. They were also very careful to save money for us. Without reducing the quality of the build, they suggested changes that saved us around £25,000.”
The team also accommodated the needs of the community. “With a local school next door and Church activities, such as weddings and funerals, it was important they kept disruption to a minimum, and they handled all that extremely well,” Tim added.
In terms of craftsmanship, EJ and GJ Groom worked hard to realise a high quality building which blends a modern design with traditional appeal. Each elevation has its own unique features. The building firm brought in local craftsmen and women for the specialist carpentry, stonework and to create the beautiful stained glass window, which provides a perfect complement to the original Church.
Not only did they do a fantastic construction job, but they were able to contribute to the life of the building by suggesting a “basement” area to store furniture and other equipment. They added their own community spirit, incorporating a play area for the Sunday School children and helping them to contribute to Church fundraising by giving them top soil to create a vegetable garden to grow produce to sell to family and friends.
The Trinity Centre is now an integral part of community life. Every week over 1,000 local people use the hall, four meeting rooms, office and kitchen for a wide range of activities from dinners, discos and dancing to business meetings and coffee mornings. But the first event held there was a Christmas Dinner for the builders, prepared and served by the clients to thank them for their role in creating a first class community centre.
