31st May 2019 
 

Update from Cath Storey (Project Manager Fundraising & Communications) about the Vineyard House Project – planning, support from our local councillor and prayer.
 

Sam Lewis has been progressing with the plans for Vineyard House with the various stages involved in securing planning approval and has had a positive response from an initial meeting with the council’s conservation personnel. Work is progressing with the quantity surveyor’s input for the project and the architectural concepts are now on the website together with the original George Corson drawings of the building. These are a great addition to the History page.

The project has secured support from The Civic Trust which is great and in fact we were pleased to receive a letter with the following comments…”the committee welcomed the scheme as an appropriate development which would bring life back into this historic building. We felt the design made good use of the existing features and we could see the ‘logic’ of the alterations proposed. We also commended the quality of the Design and Access Statement and the supporting material – this should be used as an example by other project architects and developers”.

We are also thrilled to have Cllr Al Garthwaite’s support for the project and it was wonderful that she was able to come along to the launch of STEPS 2019 and share her thoughts. Al shared how the local councillors had been made particularly aware of the need for mental health work, support for street users and resources for asylum seekers. She also mentioned that there was a need for more buildings with a Vision such as we have for Vineyard House, offering something different. She is delighted to give her full support to the project.

Kingdom endeavour

The plans and full vision for Vineyard House is a Kingdom endeavour and STEPS 2019 was launched on the 19th May as we invite you to sow into the Vineyard House project. This is a great opportunity to be part of the journey, for those of you who are new to Leeds Vineyard and want to now come alongside the vision or for those who were unable to give last time and would love to do so now. We need a Kingdom-sized release of funding for this project. When we can demonstrate that individual giving has already been secured for the project together with community support we can meet key funding criteria and build up a portfolio of funders walking alongside us.

Prayer space

Our very first priority for Vineyard House is for it to be a place of Prayer. We have incorporated this in the architect’s plans and indeed have already started using one of the available rooms as a place for regular prayer.



At this stage some of our prayer is for the building itself. We intend that Vineyard House will become a place where, by virtue of prayer and worship, there will be a tangible sense of the Spirit of God. The Vineyard House project was conceived through prayer and vision and we are grateful for all the prayers, words and pictures of encouragement for the project to date, do keep them coming. As the prayer room gets used more and more, we look forward to sharing about how our focus and dedication to prayer helps shine a light on the full aspirations for the building.

Come and See events

We are running more Come and See events for those of you who haven’t had a chance to explore inside Vineyard House yet, to enjoy a guided tour of the building and have an opportunity to ask the team specific questions. Keep an eye on the website and announcements for future dates.

If you have any specific questions in the meantime or would like to contact Sam or me about anything relating to the Vineyard House Project, please do email us via the office.  
 

Cath Storey