Build-to-Bless

Build to Bless

In 2018, the St Martin’s congregation was around 10 people. Fast-forward to 2026. We have a thriving church with 130 adults and 50 under-16s attending services across the week. We also run weekly events including a popular baby & toddler group; a Lego Club for primary-school aged children; and a community coffee morning as well as host Stockport Foodbank.

We’re a growing church spreading the good news of Jesus, with an ever-increasing local outreach and community impact. Through our Build to Bless project, we want to make big changes to the church building, to help us meet current and future demand.

Where are we now?

a congregation of more than 130 adults and 50 under 16's
a popular, weekly baby & toddler group - Little Lights - with more than 80 attendees
midweek and after school activities for children and young people (e.g. Lego club)
a twice-weekly Foodbank, giving out 600-700 meals every week
several community events (both indoors and outdoors) each year, typically attended by over 200 local residents

What’s the Build to Bless vision?

The internal space of the church building isn’t fulfilling its potential - it is insufficient and outdated. It’s limiting the effectiveness not only of our Sunday services, but a range of midweek community activity sessions, workshops, classes and ministries. The internal space has no hot water, no segregated creche, no dedicated kitchen, no accessible toilet, and an inefficient heating system.

We also have a pre-fabricated external hall used for children’s activities which is rapidly coming to the end of its serviceable life.

Our big Build to Bless vision will therefore seek to:

Drastically improve the layout of our internal building space, to accommodate our increased congregation numbers and better support community use
Relocate our kitchen, foodbank and storage areas, currently situated within our main worship and activity space. We want to create a new fit-for-purpose kitchen, Foodbank, office and creche/children's spaces
Provide fully accessible and barrier-free access throughout the building
Improve the existing toilet provision – we only have one toilet, and we want to create a fully accessible toilet with baby change facilities
Create a new, dedicated Foodbank space and storage facility, to enable us to support more vulnerable people and families who need help
Address issues with existing heating, hot water, lighting and audio provision
Create a welcoming, accessible entrance to St Martin’s via Didsbury Road, in line with the original design intent of the building

Our progress to date

Planning milestones

In June 2024, our initial application received unanimous support at Stockport Council’s local area planning committee
In October 2025, following engagement with local residents, the Diocese, and our design team, we opted to pursue an alternative scheme
In Spring 2026, the updated draft designs were shared with the council and local neighbours for their comments
In June 2026 we intend to submit the updated plans to the Council and the Diocese for approval

Fundraising milestones

Our fundraising campaign is going well. We have already had around £800k given/pledged by the congregation. Further fundraising will be required to deliver the project once necessary approvals are in place. Please follow the link if you would like to support the project.

Support our Build to Bless Vision

If you want to speak to a member of the Build to Bless team about the project and how you could be involved, please contact

Donate Now

Or you can scan this QR code:

What would your support for Build to Bless mean?

We are grateful for any and all support you can give. Together, we can:

Create a safe and trusted place for more children to have fun and learn about Jesus
Provide further tangible support to people living in poverty
Introduce basic amenities, including hot water and accessible toilet facilities
Continue our vital role in serving our communities in Stockport