A Black Country church is planning a new community centre for the people of Oldbury.

The New Testament Church of God, based in Oldbury town centre has bought the building next door to their current premises which was previously used as offices, with plans to convert it into a community centre - ‘Project Welcome’.
 
The building is run-down and needs investment, but the church is determined to raise the funds to make it happen and have already obtained change of use planning consent. Project leader, Sadie Brooks, said:

“We know there is a great need for more community facilities in Oldbury and this building is ideally located and fits with our vision for a warm, friendly place where people can build relationships and solve their problems together.

"The building needs modernising, so we need to raise quite a lot of money. We’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s a big step for us. To start with, we need to know what people want from the building and are asking people to complete an online survey.”

The survey can be found by clicking here and there's £100 of High Street Vouchers on offer to one lucky winner who will be announced at an open day in January, where visitors will be able to view the building, meet the team behind the project and say how they think the spaces should be used. Pastor Steve Williams added:

“We want to create a place where everyone from different faiths, or those who have none, can build a supportive community. There could be groups for isolated older people, activities for teenagers and rooms of different shapes and sizes for groups to hire.

"But first we need to know what people need. Please do compete the survey or get in touch“. 

A separate charity will be set up to manage the building as a community business. The church welcomes contact from anyone interested in getting involved in this venture.