At last there are visible signs that efforts are underway to raise the large sums of money required to enable us go ahead with the proposed development of the current school buildings. Our vision has always been to put Fulwood Methodist Church at the centre of the local community and we need to put together a very clear vision of how our buildings can be used for the benefit of all.

On the 8^th October we held a "Community Consultation Day" to which we invited representatives of the local community to hear of our plans and to give us their ideas of how we could best serve the local community. Twenty people attended on the day, including 6 local and county councillors, and they were very supportive of the scheme. A further 28 groups wish to be kept informed of our progress.

They represented such diverse groups as Age Concern, Heartbeat, Lancashire Constabulary, Preston Sikh Cultural Association, Cruse Bereavement Services and Preston Trades Council. It is hoped that we will be able to incorporate many of their ideas once the development has taken place.

Prior to this we had already had discussions with potential "partner" groups and, so far, Lancashire County Youth & Community Service, Preston Primary Care NHS Trust and Lancashire County Council Adult & Community Learning Services have expressed strong interest in being involved in the project.

The support of such organisations gives great authority to our approaches to major fund-holders.

Chris Penrith has put together preliminary cash-flow figures which indicate that, once completed, the buildings will generate sufficient revenue to ensure a viable future. We are now re-visiting the architect’s original costings to ensure that our applications for funding will be founded on accurate figures

We intend to have our bids in place by April 2003 and this will need a great deal of work by the members of our Finance Group. In the coming months we will be seeking to involve more people to undertake various short-term projects to ensure that everything is prepared in the most professional manner. We also need help with secretarial skills, information gathering and presentation skills.

If you feel you can help in any way,