A ground-breaking ceremony has marked the start of construction on a £2.3 million 500-seat auditorium behind Freedom House on the Lower Bristol Road in Bath.
Bristol-based construction firm Beard is building the new auditorium, which will provide a home for the Freedom Centre UK Church’s services, activities and wide range of community-based projects.
The new building will also be used by local charity the Trauma Recovery Centre (TRC) which is based at Freedom House and provides creative and purposeful recovery for children facing trauma, challenge and crisis.
Set to be built on part of the Freedom House carpark, the new two-storey building will feature an 800sqm auditorium with a stage, plus adjoined multifunctional break out spaces on the ground floor and mezzanine.
The ground floor will also be equipped with café-style seating and a servery for refreshments.
“We are delighted to be starting work on this exciting new community building which will provide a bright purpose-built space for the church and charity activities,” said Sean Franks, Beard contracts manager.
“It’s a great pleasure to be involved in this important new centre that will provide a place of worship and healing in the community for generations to come.”
Designed by SRA Architects, the new building will have a bright, modern design to reflect the Freedom Centre Church’s aspirations, and create a visually engaging, warm and welcoming environment for the charity’s children and young people in recovery from trauma.
Betsy de Thierry, director of TRC and leader of Freedom Centre UK, said: “It’s taken us 10 years to plan this building, so we are delighted that we have finally begun.
“We are excited about being able to meet as a church in our own building and we are delighted to extend the facilities that we love to see used so well by the TRC.
“We are excited about being able to expand all of our work in Bath and further afield.
“We look forward to holding an open week with activities for families where people from Bath can come and have fun and find out about both charities – the TRC and Freedom, so watch out for those dates next summer!”
2 Comments
Rachel Banham
Monday 24th September, 2018 at 21:01Such a great building for the city!
Bath Lady
Monday 24th September, 2018 at 20:57What a great project that is set to have a great impact on the local communities and surrounding area. I look forward to being part of the open week and celebrating the opening of this great building!! Great article!