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Dear <<First Name>>
 As we continue to discuss plans for the development of the Irving Building, between Hertford Street and Essex Street in East Oxford, which we’re now calling the ‘Old Schoolhouse’, we thought you might like to see some photos. It’s all looking a bit tired and sad at the moment (much like an abandoned school building might look - funny that!) but look with us through the chipped paint and old schoolwork displays, and see the exciting potential!
So many rooms, so much space! And plans for the transformation are really taking shape.
 
 
A few weeks ago the Magdalen Road Church family gathered for a picnic at the new site after our morning service, to hear more about the proposed plans from our design team.
 
After weeks of collecting ideas and feedback and discussions with our architects, the outline plans are firming up as we prepare to share with the local community in the autumn before making our planning application. So enjoy a photo tour of the different parts of the Old Schoolhouse to help you visualize it all! These are, of course, all subject to planning consent.
1. A new larger hall. This will enable us all to meet together on a Sunday morning at our regular meeting as a church (we currently meet at 10:30am at the primary school at the end of Bedford Street - all welcome!), and it will also be available for use by local clubs, charities and groups at other times. The initial designs reference the heritage of the local area and it sits comfortably next to the existing building. We’re hoping the side of the building that faces onto the Comper site will have fun elements for the children like a green wall! Here is an early visualisation of the inside of the hall.
2. Our church home and spaces for the community to use. Our church staff team will have offices here and our weekly groups will use the spaces to continue meeting, such as our youth group and Comfort Trust activities - baby and toddler groups - Sunflowers, Daisies and Buttercups. Many of these spaces will be available to hire, whether it’s a weekly exercise class, counselling or a one-off special occasion. Get in touch if you have an interest in hiring some space - some will be available from Spring 2019 before the full development begins, with other spaces becoming available later. Here’s a snap of the current large space.
3. New homes for key workers and families. We’re designing a mix of key worker accommodation (one of the conditions of sale) and family homes on the Essex Street side of the site, creating some much needed housing in East Oxford. We’re working with a specialist residential architect who is creating designs that are in keeping with the rest of the site and the Victorian terrace housing of the area and may also have a contemporary streak. We’ll be selling this part of the site, once we have planning permission (we’re not housing developers!). See the Essex Street side of the site below!
4. Space for tenants. We hope the top floor of the existing building will become the new home for a variety of office tenants. We’re speaking to local charities, social enterprises and businesses who might be interested in making the Old Schoolhouse their home. Some spaces will be available in Spring 2019, before the main development starts, so please get in touch if it’s of any interest. There may also be co-working space where local freelancers, small business owners, or people who work from home can work, use some shared facilities, have meetings in bookable spaces and be less reliant on home working. This is just one of the spaces on the top floor of the building.
5. A community cafe. We’re also looking at the potential a community cafe could bring to the Old Schoolhouse. It would be in the new atrium of the existing building, and we’re currently exploring a variety of models to see if this would be viable. We want the space to be open and available for everyone to come in and enjoy our new home! Here’s an image of the architect’s first thoughts on what it could be like.
And yep, we’re still having fun with the clean up. There’s been scrubbing, sweeping, weeding and mowing. We’ve made good progress but there is still a lot to be done before we move in. Four ‘working bees’ down, two more in the diary (Saturday 11th August and Saturday 1st September, anytime from 9:30am to 3pm)! Many hands make light work though, right?! Here’s some of our faithful cleanup team getting stuck in!
Finally, as we mentioned before, we’re planning a public consultation meeting for the Old Schoolhouse (date to be confirmed soon). This will be an opportunity for the residents of East Oxford to see and interact with the proposed designs, ask questions, and give their views. If that’s you, please come along - we’d love to meet you and hear your thoughts! We’re also hoping to have a BBQ, give tours of the building and there are rumours of face-painting (for the kids…!). For now, do get in touch with us if you’ve got any questions, and come and introduce yourself if you’re ever passing by.
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