BID Updates - Community

Temple Church project takes next step thanks to BID funding and support

Redcliffe & Temple BID are providing funding and support to English Heritage.

07/05/2024

BID Lead
Tom Swithinbank
Email Tom Swithinbank

The ongoing project to enable Temple Church to fulfil its potential – to become an asset for the community – has taken another step forward with the Redcliffe & Temple BID providing funding and support to English Heritage. 

The church, which is managed by English Heritage, was opened to the public for the first-time last year following several decades of closure and was a key host for Bristol Light Festival in 2023 and 2024 as well as acting as a space for reflection for local workers, residents and visitors. 

The BID will provide funding of £15,000 to support two projects to take the project a step closer to responding to the needs of the community. 

Firstly, English Heritage have started a programme of community engagement using the agency, Supersum, who will deliver a range of workshops for volunteers and community members and facilitate community organisations to use the space via ‘seed corn funding’ – a small pot of funding to enable community groups and businesses to use the space for events and activities. As part of this engagement, we will work with Supersum to engage local businesses both locally on Church Lane and in the many office buildings that surround the park. 

The second part of the project will create a series of options and viability assessments for the use of the Vesty, this currently empty and un-safe space offers the opportunity to create an indoor space for volunteers and visitors to enable the church to become a more beneficial space for the local community. 

If you would like to contribute to this project, please get in touch. 

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Supporting improvements to Temple Church and Gardens was a key feature in the Redcliffe & Temple BID Business Plan in 2021 and we are pleased to be supporting this work. We will be engaging with businesses throughout Summer 2024 as part of this process. 

In addition to our work with English Heritage, we continue to work with Bristol City Council Parks Department to discuss opportunities to improve the park itself. 

Speaking about the funding Ed McGregor, Free Sites Partnership Manager for English Heritage thanked the BID for the support:

“We’re aiming to establish the historic church in Redcliffe as a beacon for community activities that connect the local area, and ultimately better placing Temple Church to respond to the needs and ambitions of its diverse communities. We’re grateful to the BID for their support and funding and look forward to understanding how local people want to use the space.”
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