Faith Church in Rogerstone, near Newport in Wales, has bought the former Avana Bakeries building, securing the future of the community hub which is based there and enabling the church to expand the range of activities on offer.
The church, which is based in the Trebor Celebration Building in Rogerstone, has bought the 20,000 sq ft building so that it can continue to host a wide variety of groups and activities for the benefit of the local community.
Property consultancy JLL advised Faith Church on the purchase of the building on Wern Industrial Estate, which was previously home to Avana Bakeries.
The community hub already runs regular worship and children’s services as well as hosting activities organised by other community groups. These include a youth club, fitness and dance classes, concerts and parent and toddler groups. The building is also used regularly by the local rugby club, Scouts, Newport Youth Offending Service and various charities. The plan is to increase this range of activities significantly over the next six months.
The aim also is to open up the space to businesses, including budget office space for start-ups, free networking events and meeting rooms available to hire.
Heather Lawrence, senior surveyor at JLL in Cardiff, said: “It’s fantastic to see this industrial building being transformed for the benefit of the community. It’s in a well-connected location which makes it accessible and it’s a big building so there’s a lot of scope to create an interesting and vibrant space for people to enjoy.”
Faith Church is now refurbishing the building and is looking for funding to introduce energy saving measures to make the building more sustainable and keep running costs low. The church is planning an official launch of the new centre once these works are complete.
The Church has been running in Rogerstone since 2004 and is now overseen by the senior pastor Mike Taylor.
Mike said: “I am passionate about being part of and helping to support a positive community spirit. Our work goes beyond faith in God. We believe in faith in yourself, in the community and in making a positive difference in the world. We are really excited to be putting all this into action with this new community facility.”
Cushman & Wakefield advised the vendor on the sale of the building.
Chris Yates, senior surveyor at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Faith Church has been a tenant in the building for 18 months. Agreeing the sale of the premises to the Church was really rewarding as it will help this local community group continue to flourish.”
Cushman & Wakefield are now marketing the remainder of the main former Avana Bakeries site at Wern Industrial Estate following the closure of the bakery.