Redevelopment Project
For nearly a hundred years there were three churches on Gosforth High Street; West Avenue Methodist, Gosforth United Reformed and Woodbine Road Methodist. Each church had its own separate, independent congregation and buildings. In the Millennium year after much discussion and prayer, the individual congregations decided that they would unite and form a single congregation of Christians, based on the centre of the High Street.
The result is that the three congregations are now one, Trinity Church, comprising around 360 members with an extensive range of talents and experience. The premises are home to a wide variety of community organisations, some directly linked to the Church, others not.
The churches came together as it was recognised that staying apart hindered the full development of their talent and the belief that the combined talents – organisational, musical, teaching, caring, helping, financial and material - should be deployed in a cohesive fashion for the benefit of the whole community.
It is intended that the whole Trinity Centre will help the regeneration of the High Street, restoring it to its former status as a centre for community life. To fulfil the vision it was recognised that the churches would be concentrated on one site and that the preferred building would need substantial alteration and refurbishment to make the premises fit for the 21st century. Two of the redundant church buildings were sold and the redevelopment of the West Avenue site started in the middle of 2006.
Extensive consultation was undertaken with the community, local authority and our own users to ascertain the best use of resources and to ensure that local needs could be met. As a result the buildings provide: an improved, larger worship space which can also be used for music or theatre performances; a variety of meeting rooms and halls for community activities and functions; a cafe and full catering services from in-house kitchens.
The additional development of a Town Square, in partnership with Newcastle City Council, on a prime site opposite the main shopping area of the High Street will act as a central meeting place and one which can be widely used for community activities.
As part of the plan to serve the wider community, the adaptation of a former Methodist Chapel in South Gosforth into The Trinity Christian Community Centre has already taken place. This is part of the vision that Trinity Centre should become the hub of the community, with the spokes extending all around our catchment area.
Trinity Centre represents a commitment to the traditional Christian values of loving one’s neighbour by offering to help the needy, welcoming the stranger, caring for the elderly, educating the young and caring for the environment. With a prime central location on Gosforth High Street, the new Trinity Centre can create a public sacred space to serve the community and breathe much needed vitality back into a tired High Street.
