The Building Conservation Project

Ownership •  Project Costs and Funding •  Timetable •  Press Articles

In conjunction with Dudley MBC and after extensive public consultation, West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust (WMHBT) has developed proposals to convert the chapels building to create rooms suitable for use by community organisations or as commercial offices. This will provide a regular income and a secure future for the building.

Statutory approvals have been granted for a scheme to create gross internal floor-space of approximately 259 square metres (2,750 square feet).

The project includes creating a new access roadway into the cemetery, enabling the introduction of a boundary between the cemetery and chapels building; the existing driveway will then be for the exclusive use of the chapels building, to include the provision of private off-road car-parking.

The building will be suitable for a single occupier or two occupiers (having potential for a self-contained suite of rooms in each of the two chapels, with a shared central entrance doorway and lobby).

Ownership

Dudley Council is the current owner and has agreed in principle to transfer ownership to the West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust when the scheme has sufficient funding to proceed. Upon completion of the building works, the Trust intends to let the building and retain freehold ownership to ensure appropriate ongoing maintenance and care of the property. The necessary building work cannot proceed until all project funding is secured; expressions of interest are currently being invited from potential occupiers (either community or commercial organisations) to enable funding applications to be submitted towards the repair and conversion costs.

Project Costs and Funding

Based on a Feasibility Study the Trust commissioned from Brownhill Hayward Brown, conservation architects, and work being carried out in the 2009-10 financial year, the total estimated project cost is approximately £1,264,000. To date the Trust has secured offers of partnership funding totalling approximately £456,000. Discussions have been held with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) with a view to submitting a Heritage Grant application for the balance of the necessary funding, which can be pursued when end-users for the completed scheme have been identified.

Timetable

Planning permission and listed building consent approvals have been obtained. Building work can therefore proceed as soon as sufficient partnership funding is confirmed. When end-users have been identified it is expected to take 18 months to secure funding and then approximately 12 months to carry out the work for the building to be ready for occupation.