A new ramp at St Peter's Church, Rock Ferry provides better access for wheelchair users and pushchairs, and has the added benefit of opening up the entrance to the church to make it more inviting to people in the community.
John is a wheelchair user himself, and for years he and others had only been able to access the church via a temporary wooden ramp that had to be movedinto place as and when required. It was a clunky and cumbersome process, that always required the assistance of others to move the ramp into position. John realised that he wasn't the only one who found it difficult to enter the church. The are other wheelchair users in the community and significantly, people with children's pushchairs who like to attend the All Age Service and children's groups.
Realising that the church would better serve the community if they made it much more accessible, John set about the task of raising money to build a new permanent ramp. Through prayer, hard work and determination, planning and funding applications were made and everything started to come together, in no small part thanks to the generosity of two separate private donations of £10,000. Additional funding for £9,500, received through the 'Minor Repairs and Improvement Funding Scheme' meant that work on the ramp could go ahead.
Now in the final stages of the build (railings have yet to be added), it's already evident how the new ramp has transformed the church entrance, making it easier to access and more welcoming. Gone, is the narrow entrance and hedging, which acted as a barrier to passersby. The new ramp opens out on the path, inviting people into the church.
Sheena Wilson, Buildings for Mission Advisor, says: "It is great that John and his parishioners now have level access into the St Peter’s. Chester Diocese successful bid for Minor repairs and Improvement funding will support repairs and improvements for around twenty churches by the end of 2025. The project has taken some time as funds are only the first step of the process as schemes have to be drawn up and planning and faculty permissions applied for before works can start."