The Trinity Centre occupies the Holy Trinity St Phillip’s, a Grade II* Listed parliamentary church. Originally built in 1832, the church was declared redundant in 1976 and was appropriated for community use in 1977. Continuing the tradition of a community hub and music venue, the centre today also provides recording and broadcast studios, training around media arts and technology. It also holds a licence to perform civil ceremonies! The centre is run by Trinity Community Arts TCA.
TCA’s mission, which has never been more important than in these really difficult times, is to: “use the Trinity Centre to engage the local community of all ages in imaginative and socially inclusive projects.”
Working on behalf of Trinity Community Arts, gcp secured planning consent to carry out capital improvements so the site can host and support even more community activity. The proposals, developed and approved following several months of consultations with key stakeholders will see customised timber clad containers installed on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. The Digs project has minimal impact on the historic setting of the listed building and aims to release space in the exiting building for additional programme related activities, therefore has the real potential to consolidate the long-term financial resilience of the centre.
Given the Grade II* Listed status of the site planning was complex and demanded working closely with the planning and listed building officers who were keen to minimise the impact of any development on the historic setting. Therefore, the elevations of the listed building have been studied and analysed, leading to the creation of a vertical and horizontal ‘grid’ that informs the timber cladding for the new building.
gcp team is passionate about supporting community groups and voluntary sector organisations, and for over 20 years has helped organisations like TCA make the best used of their assets.
