Big plans for ‘island’s smallest parish church’ – St Andrew’s

A planning application has been submitted to make changes at the protected building at the heart of the parish.

Dean of Guernsey the Very Rev. Tim Barker is the parish rector and said the church and parish had been investigating options for some time. At this stage they were putting in plans for a number of options, but they would not necessarily go ahead with all them.

‘There is an expectation that there are decent facilities in churches,’ he said.

Currently there is no toilet in the church. Anyone needing the loo needs to leave the church and go up to the nearby church barn, which Mr Barker said was not convenient.

The plans would see the timber Victorian entrance porch removed to create a level entranceway and replaced with a glass entranceway.

Due to the scale of the church – it is possibly the smallest parish church – there is no room inside for a new toilet, so it is proposed a non-glass area inside the porch be made into a toilet.

‘There is not a huge amount of space within the building and it would be intrusive to have it inside, with the noise,’ he said.

There are also challenges with access.

‘The church is up and down some quite steep steps,’ Mr Barker said.

‘We do have a portable ramp for people to use, but it’s not very dignified and it is quite steep.’

Instead the plans propose installing a platform lift, which would help people reach the main body of the church.

Mr Barker said the new toilet and improving access were the most important aspects of the proposal.

But the plans also include a proposal to remove the pews in the northern aisle, which would create a more flexible space inside the church. A kitchenette would be created as well.

Mr Barker said currently the church only had a trestle table and a tap, meaning each Sunday the kitchenware used during services had to be taken across the road to the rectory to go through Mr Barker’s dishwasher.

Mr Barker added that the seating area on this side of the church also had quite an obstructed view, due to the pillars, meaning people sitting there had to crick their neck.

So using it as a flexible space would be better.

There are also plans to install resin instead of gravel on the path to make it easier for people with limited mobility to access the church.

Within the plans is also proposals to remove two pews at the front of the south aisle, as funeral directors have been struggling to manoeuvre in the tight space.

Mr Barker said the application was being submitted to see what the planners would agree with, and then the church and parish would look at options.

Investigations into funding options are still taking place, meaning if planning was granted quickly, it would still be some time before any work began.

Mr Barker said he would be pleased if some work took place in 2024.

‘It is exciting,’ he said.

• The plans are reference FULL/2023/0024 and can be viewed at https://www.gov.gg/liveplanningapplications