A NEW hub for the community has been unveiled at St Francis Church in Salisbury. 

An open day was held today (Saturday) to celebrate the official opening of the church's new extension.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Reverend Nicholas Holtam gave a blessing before cutting the ribbon to declare the new building open. He also cut a celebratory cake to mark the occasion. 

Speaking about the opening of the new extension, Vicar Paul Taylor said: "It is wonderful and really exciting. It is a great thing for the community, we want to invite people in. The aim is to serve the community.

"It has been the aim of the whole project to be a community hub and we want it to be a thriving place that is warm and welcoming."
He said he wanted the new extension to have a "sense of community" and to be a place of "life and hope". 

The area has chairs and tables with a cafe/bar area. 

The project has cost £450,000, which was raised through donations from the congregation and other supporters as well as money from the Garfield Weston Foundation, Bernard Sunley Foundation, Beatrice Laing Trust and Community First Foundation. 

In a speech before the ribbon cutting The Bishop said: "Congratulations for having achieved such a great project.

The number of people that have said to me 'I'm so pleased with the new buildings up at St Francis, they have transformed the place and made it so much easier to connect with the community around'. I have heard that so many times over the last few weeks. It is a real joy to be with you this morning."

He added: "This is a great day for St Francis and the church."
Vicar Taylor said the need to open up the building had been realised after a fire in the church hall in 2011 which meant that community groups using the hall had to be moved into the church - paving the way for the transformation of the church site. 

He thanked everyone who had been involved in the project and said there had been a "fantastic community effort" to finish off the building with volunteers, including some of the younger children, lending a hand to help paint the building. 

During the open day the other church buildings were open for the public to have a look around, including the youth lounge, preschool, sports courtyard and activities hall.