St Mary's Access and Green Spaces Project
Page last updated: September 2025
Since April 2025 we have moved into fundraising for this project and have the following updates to give:
QUICK WINS: £2,904 - FULLY FUNDED
This work will start shortly (we're just waiting for official permission from the Diocese who needs to grant us the church equivalent of planning permission, called 'a Faculty'. Work will improve the frontage of the church through the relocation of the notice board, removal of two holly trees, and the addition of new planters and planting.
We're grateful to Sandridge Parish Council who have provided a grant towards this work, with additional funding coming from individual donations.
PHASE ONE: over £50,000 raised so far! £12,000 left to raise
Through successful fundraising and working hard on the budget, we are nearly there for phase one and we are hopeful this work will start in early Spring 2026 (once we have the necessary permissions in place). The remaining £12,000 we're seeking is for the new main entrance doors to the church building.
Phase one is for the Rear Green Space and Doors: Enclosed play area; improved quiet garden; level access to all spaces; electronic opening glazed main entrance; and wheelchair access to community quiet and kitchen gardens.
PHASE TWO fundraising will start in December 2025
Phase two sees the development of our Village Green area, connecting the Church's green spaces to the Quadrant. We're really excited about this phase which is going to be a wonderful addition to Marshalswick community life.
Aims of the Project
1. Improve Accessibility
with accessible, electronic opening, glazed doors; level access, into the building and gardens; and wheelchair accessible garden spaces and furniture.
2. Widen Use
through the provision of an enclosed garden space; enlarging our quiet garden area for community use, planting a wild garden area, and creating a new ‘village green’ open space for daily use by the community and for larger events.
3. Increase Visibilityby effective landscaping, the use of glazed doors, and improved signage.
Phases and Total Costings
We have plans created by MEB Design Ltd, and draft costs from our quantity surveyor for each of the three identified phases. The total cost for the whole project is £211,000, which we have broken down into phases to focus our fundraising and our work.
PHASE ONE: £78,106
Green Space and Doors: Enclosed, play area; improved quiet garden; level access to all spaces; electronic opening glazed main entrance; and wheelchair access to community quiet and kitchen gardens. We just have £12,000 left to raise on this phase!
PHASE TWO: £53,632
Village Green: Open space on the South side of the church, with furniture, planting and hard standing for access and community events, and electronic glazed doors with level access.
PHASE THREE: £79,250
Car park and pedestrian access: Redesigned car park and pedestrian access to North side main entrance.
How you could help
We are looking for donations or both finance and skills. If you have gardening and/or landscaping skills, we’d love to hear from you – whether to help us in the planning stages or perhaps to help with maintenance. Monetary donations of all sizes are gratefully received; from smaller amounts that will help us with planting our wild garden and the new planters, to larger amounts that can be designated to particular aspects of the project. Donors can be recognised on a dedication plaque, either with their own name, an organisation name, or in memory of a loved one. We would love to hear from anyone able to offer support to this project; please get in touch.
Feedback
We're really grateful to everyone who gave feedback - groups and individuals. We want to keep receiving feedback all through the life of this project; please get in touch with any ideas, questions or concerns.
Page updated: September 2025