Statement of Need – updated 20 October 2008

Holy Trinity commands a special setting on Clapham Common, approached

from many directions and with the main entrance via a portico on the west
end. Other entrances are provided to the Wilberforce Centre and Vestry.
Vehicle access is only from the west. A large proportion of the congregation
and other visitors arrive from the east and from there the church presents a
more “closed in” appearance. We should investigate ways in which the
church can open out to the eastern aspect.

The churchyard, owned by the Church but seen by many in the community as
integral to the landscape of the Common, also needs to be reviewed. The
combination of railings and a hedge, whilst giving real enclosure, has also
created a visual barrier that has lead to many occurrences of antisocial
behaviour. This has threatened personal safety and continues to pose a risk
to those who pass by the churchyard and those many groups that use the
churchyard in conjunction with the church.

Accessibility to and within the church is inadequate in certain areas and this
must be addressed in any proposals for physical alterations.

The environmental, social and economic resources used by Holy Trinity need
careful consideration as part of our stewardship on this earth. We need to
review the ways in which we evolve and operate the building and ensure that
the physical configuration and operational systems encourage all users to
behave in a more sustainable way.

The Narthex comprises a welcome area, coffee bar and notice boards and the
Thornton Chapel, a small area that was created for small scale worship. The
Thornton Chapel is more frequently used by children’s groups and other
support groups though it is not of an adequate size for these purposes. The
Truscott Report proposed relocating aspects of the church’s day to day
administration to the Narthex thereby providing a clearer, accessible,
welcome point. The coffee bar area becomes very congested after the
Sunday morning main service and we need more space for this.

Holy Trinity caters well for large-scale services, and we will allow for this
prime function to occur in the same configuration. By reviewing the fixed
arrangement of the pews in the main body of the Nave and side aisles there
may be greater opportunities for a wider variety of settings for worship and
large scale events.

The Galleries are a significant part of the church but are relatively
inaccessible and disconnected from the ground floor once inside the church.
Sight lines in the areas at the eastern end of the galleries are especially poor
for any activities occurring in the Sanctuary.

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When churches were subject to entertainments licensing for non-religious
events, our local authority restricted us to an audience of only 200 people, all
seated on the ground floor. There are however many occasions both religious
and secular, when we may have four or even five times that number and use
the galleries. The Licensing Act 2003 exempted places of worship from
entertainments licensing, but our policy is that in all matters to do with public
safety, we should do our best within the limitations of a public building to
reach the same level of health and safety requirements as applies to secular
buildings. We must therefore investigate and improve safety and means of
escape.

Services for small numbers (a dozen to 30 people) are not well provided for.
The Thornton Chapel was supposed to cater from these, but is too small and
visually claustrophobic. A larger number can use the nave platform, but it is
not a friendly or a safe space, while the chancel is made difficult by its
collegiate-style and uncomfortable pews. A flexible space in the chancel is
seen as the solution, provided it is designed in a way which respects the
harmony of the building when seen from the nave. The area is at present
reached by steps, and must be made accessible to the disabled or infirm.

When the Nave, Galleries and Chancel are used together, the church could
safely cater for a significant congregation. A more flexible arrangement in the
Chancel would allow for a variety of settings to better accommodate choral
and music arrangements.

Lighting of the main areas of focus needs review along with better provision
for projection screens and audio systems.

Toilets, kitchens and other “support” facilities are at times under severe
pressure and these need to be reviewed along with spaces outlined above.
On occasions these need to work as a whole, serving large gatherings of
people, but more frequently they need to operate as discrete areas that can
be assigned to different user groups and particularly children’s groups of
varying ages.

We cater reasonably well for community groups but there are limitations, e.g.
no large ground floor hall space. A variety of different scale spaces would
enable greater use of the church, 7 days a week, and would enable some
areas that are currently very specific in their layout to be used more widely.

With the potential for so many users of the church, it is inevitable that storage
space will remain at a premium. At present much of this is placed in the pews
on the galleries. Not only is this unsightly, it is impractical and does pose
certain health and safety issues. A rigorous “de-cluttering” has already
occurred and effective management of the spaces is now in place but
adequate provision must be made for any new configuration of the spaces.

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