Our redevelopment project
​​Lymm Methodist Church is building for everyone
In January 2026, work began on our £700,000 redevelopment project, transforming our buildings and providing accessible, modern facilities for the benefit of our village community.
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The church buildings, being near the centre of the village, are heavily used by community groups including Scouts, Brownies and Beavers, AA, a community choir, Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates classes, with more than 400 people on the premises each week. However, access has always been a problem because the rooms are spread across two floors and multiple levels.
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Now, a new ground-floor entrance and lobby will be created and a low-rise staircase and lift installed, making access easier for everyone, including wheelchair and pushchair users. Downstairs, ageing kitchen and toilet facilities are being replaced, while upstairs there will be a new open-plan lounge and kitchenette, and theatre lighting will be installed in the church.
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The changes don’t end there, though. We are responding to the climate crisis by ending our use of fossil fuels, replacing our gas boiler with an electric air-to-air heating system and highly efficient and easily managed air source heat pumps. This means that we shall be using 80% less energy, and with all our electricity coming from renewable sources, we won’t be generating any harmful greenhouse gases. This will not only be better for the planet, but also for air quality in the village.
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These changes will make the facilities far more welcoming, comfortable, accessible and flexible, and an even more valuable asset for community use. In partnership with Citizens Advice, Warrington, the church will become a base for community advice, and the enhanced performance and hospitality facilities will provide the village with an excellent and much-needed venue for a programme of regular concerts, exhibitions, author and dance events.
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All this is only possible because the Church has raised almost £700,000. £300,000 of this has come from the church community, while the remainder is made up of grants, including a generous award of £100,000 from Benefact Trust’s Methodist Grants Programme. Benefact Trust is one of the UK's largest grant-making charities and awarded more than £25.5 million to churches, charities and communities in 2024. Benefact Trust’s Methodist Grants Programme is funded by donations from Methodist Insurance PLC.
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‘We are delighted to be starting construction,’ says church member John Woodthorpe, who has led the project team. ‘Our buildings are a valuable resource for the village and hub for our outreach activities, but our ageing facilities were not terribly welcoming, and they were difficult to access for anyone with a pushchair or wheelchair. Without making these much-needed improvements I fear that our long-term future would have been in doubt, which would have been to everyone’s loss. The generous support of Benefact Trust has helped to ensure that we can continue to serve our community and provide a Christian presence for decades to come. We can’t wait to invite everyone in when we reopen.’
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Our contractor is DJL Construction Ltd, and the project is expected to take six months.
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