Listening to and understanding the local community of St Peter’s Church, Battersea by Samuel Verbi and Ben Winkley - Eido Research Introduction Contents “If your church building were a person, 3 what would it be like?” Introduction Nigel Walter, Church Buildings for People 1 About the local area Methodology Churches are typically places that are familiar, welcoming, and valuable to congregation Demographics members and Christians in general. As places of worship they offer a space for members to connect with each other and God, in a well known setting. 1. Identifying needs 8 And yet we rarely consider how our church building is seen by those who aren’t members of the congregation and how it could bring value and benefit to our local communities and Local knowledge residents. Fractured community Lack of activities What are the needs that this building could help meet? And ultimately, if our building were a person, how it could serve those in society who need it the most? 2. How could St Peter’s respond? 12 With a new church building set for completion in Autumn 2018, it is answers to these questions that St Peter’s church wanted to know. With a vision to “share the love of Jesus Which groups should St Peter’s be helping? in Battersea and beyond”, the church wanted to learn how they could use their new building Youth and elderly to “serve those most in need” in the local community. 2 Creating a safe space Following consultation in 2017, St Peter’s asked Eido to learn from the local community exactly what those needs are, and how they can best meet them with their new building. 3. Uses for the new building 14 Structured educational activities Sports groups Benefits 4. Engaging with the community? 20 The challenge of communication A regular presence An online presence Partnering with trusted figures A persistent presence 5. Conclusions 26 Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 2 Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 3 About the local area Set on the edge of the Winstanley Estate in Battersea, St Peter’s church building, and the space around it, historically has in many ways been a ‘good person’ for the local community. During the 20th century, the original building functioned as a community centre and club house, including a snooker table, for local residents.3 Following a fire in 1970, and the demolition of the the church Methodology building, the space became a makeshift adventure playground for local children, a rarity on the Estate Following an initial consultation meeting on 3rd August 2017, with several subsequent meetings in at that time.4 In 1974, a smaller single story building was constructed, and over the subsequent the weeks afterwards, the research needs of St Peter’s were identified. They were in short, four main years the church ran a youth group with over 200 members from the surrounding area. More recent questions that St Peter’s wanted to know the answers to: community focused projects include God Loves Battersea, as well as other weekly groups and events. Finally, in January 2014 the old building was set for demolition, and construction began on What are the views of the local community? What does the local community want? What does the a new church building, due to be completed in 2018.4 local community need? How can St Peter’s best meet these wants and needs through their new building? The residential area of Battersea has likewise seen dramatic change over Historically St Peter’s in To answer these questions, a representative sample from the population register of the local area recent years. Originally the local area was was taken, and total of 70 homes were approached to conduct short face to face interviews. a Victorian slum and was earmarked for many ways has been a demolition prior to World War II. However ‘good person’ for the local Using volunteers from St Peter’s, as well as researchers from Eido, these interviews were collected heavy bombing during the war levelled throughout the end of 2017 into early 2018. much of the area, and subsequently the community Winstanley Estate was constructed in the Following this, a small focus group of 10 local residents was formed, and presented with more in- 1960s and 1970s, as well as other new properties along the river and along plough road.3 Over depth questions in a 1 hour long discussion meeting held at St Peter’s on the 4th April. the subsequent years the area remained poor, despite the development of surrounding parts of Battersea and Clapham, and the Estate was the location of a high level of crime and a number of The resulting open and closed questions from the door to door survey and focus group, were used murders in the early 2000’s. Following the riots of August 2011, which saw destruction and looting to compile the following research findings and statistics. in Clapham Junction, a Council Report found much of the Winstanley Estate was in the bottom one percent of places for a child to live in.5 Subsequently, in 2014 the local Council agreed proposals for the regeneration of the estate, with building work starting in 2018. Questions: With a vision to bring “significant improvements to the physical environment, and enhanced provision of commercial and community services, jobs, education and training opportunities; helping local What are the views of the local community? people to prosper and achieve their aspirations”,6 this wider regeneration project, at least in theory, What does the local community need? aligns with St Peter’s vision to see their new building bless the local community. How can St Peter’s best meet these wants and needs In this regard, learning from the local residents as to what their needs and concerns are, is valuable, through their new building? not only for St Peter’s, but also for other groups. Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 4 Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 5 Demographics As was intended, there was a good level of variation in the demographics of respondents in both the survey as well as the focus group. Of the 70 respondents, 31% were families, 5% were over the age of 65, and 57% were single occupants / sharing with house-mates. The remaining 7% weren’t identifiable as belonging to any of these categories. This representation of age, lines up relatively closely with ward level statistics from the UK census, with 27% of households living with dependants, and 8% being over the age of 65.7 With regards to religious affiliation, the sample also had a good spread of responses. 57% Pictured: Some of the residents from our focus group and interviews indicated that they don’t attend a church, 24% said that they currently did (with another 3% saying that they were looking to attend one), and 14% indicated that they attended another place of worship (such as a mosque or temple). Finally, an area that St Peter’s were keen to ensure was a voice from those who hadn’t engaged with them as an organization before. With 60% of respondents having never even heard of St Peter’s Church before, and only 9% of respondents having been to a St Peter’s event before, the sample ensured a fresh set of insights and opinions from the community. Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 6 Listening to the local community of St Peter’s Church - 7 Identifying needs Local Knowledge A fractured community Although it wasn’t an official question, one of the first findings to come from the door to door This first main need for the local area therefore focused on how fractured things felt. conversations was the wealth of opinion and knowledge that local residents had for their “there said one resident. community. With many of them having lived in the area for 30+ years, there was a strong are now a lot of walls in people’s minds” “There isn’t that drive to say consensus of what the community used to look like, and therefore what the community hello and to talk to each other like there once was”. “I remember it when we used to needs were now. In this regard it was problems of social fracturing, as well as a lack of local have a lot of community talking to each other, now I don’t say hello because it feels more added another. activities, that were the most pertinent themes. dangerous and divided”, These sentiments of a fractured feeling were also expressed by residents living near the “Growing up on this estate there used to be a thriving community”, said one resident who river. “In London you don’t say hello. I think there is a lot of fear of why someone is saying has lived here since 1975. “We used to have shops, a library, rent office, a grocery store, hello and fear about what other people will do. Don’t walk with your phone out, don’t a hardware story, a laundry, there was a thriving community”. do this, don’t do that, and the minute that it involves someone else in an interaction “We used to go and play at the local community centre” added another, “I remember “there are now a lot of there are 10 things you think they are going regularly attending St Peter’s church back when it had a snooker table and everything”.