seeking God..?

what do we believe?

vision and values
Summer 2010 update
The project is progressing well:
  • The land required has been acquired
  • Planning permission is being applied for
  • A range of funding sources are being investigated and pursued
  • Zion members have donated or pledged around £900k and are now involved in additional fundraising
  • The cost of the development has been substantially reduced
 
The Third Place - www.the3rdplace.org.uk
Creating space, creating opportunity
 
People need community and people look for significant relationship in three places, the home the workplace and then…a third place. That could be a gym, a sports club, the shopping mall, the pub, somewhere they can find community and friendship.
Halesowen is a community town, a town that needs places where people can connect, where families can find help and support and where the richness of diversity in the town can be expressed and celebrated.
 
The Third place is a bold, innovative venture combining the refurbishment of existing facilities and the building of new. The Third place is a partnership project led by Zion Christian centre; a church who for the past 30 years has been at the centre of the community in Halesowen. The church grew from a handful of people in the early 80’s to now several hundred people of all ages and backgrounds.
 
Why the vision for redevelopment?
The process began in 2000 when a supermarket enquired about developing on the existing Zion Christian Centre site. Although this never materialised the seeds for development had been sown. From around 2003 the church began to seriously look at the current facility and plans for future expansion. The vision for ‘The Third place’ was beginning to take shape.

The 3 key sets of drivers for the redevelopment project are as follows: 
  • Vision drivers such as the lack of space within the auditorium and other parts of the building. There are also other constraints and lack of appropriate spaces to develop future initiatives.
  • Practical drivers such as disability discrimination act requirements as well as the general condition of much of the facility.
  • Legacy drivers; we want to leave something of significance for future generations and also do what we can to enhance and add value to the town.
 
So what will ‘The Third place’ provide?
After an initial period of research and consultation we have identified key opportunities where we can help meet needs in the community and create space and opportunity to contribute towards building a better Halesowen.
 

Creating space….
 
Social spaces such as a bistro, hair salon, recreational lounges;

Youth and children’s spaces including youth clubs, soft play areas, multi sensory rooms for children with special needs;

Seniors spaces for craft clubs, luncheon clubs, health and fitness clubs;

Sports spaces such as outdoor multi use games area, indoor 5-a-side football
 

Creating opportunity…
 
Opportunities for entertainment – a state of the art auditorium for concerts, conferences, events; opportunities to explore the diversity within the town

Opportunities for service delivery – working in partnership to deliver key services to the wider community of Halesowen and beyond such as youth work with Phase Trust who deliver a range of youth provision including mentoring, skill based workshops, sexual health education/advice, signposting etc.

Opportunities for learning, development and training – not only for the local community but further a field (currently the church partners with several organizations and trains and sends out teams to work in Sub Saharan Africa, India and Europe on HIV/AIDS projects and relief and development work)

Opportunities to meet needs – plans are underway for a food bank, debt advice, teenage pregnancy testing (further consultation, research and surveys are in the planning stages)

Opportunities for effective partnership – currently the church partners with education services, the NHS, other voluntary and statutory providers; the Third Place will enable more partnership and joined up activity.

Opportunities for social inclusion – the project will create opportunities for people with disability, for people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
 
 
What will be the detail of the development?
Community Base – refurbishing of the current back block including new youth and children’s facilities.
 
Church and Conference Centre – new build including social spaces, meeting rooms and a large auditorium with state of the art facilities (700 + seating capacity).
 
Residential Scheme – redevelopment of the current main block, possibly as social housing or an ‘extra care village’.
 

Visit The Third Place website to find out more!
 
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