Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
Church and hall entrance
In the beginning was a church and community hall.
St Michael and All Angels church was built in the 1960s, together with a hall which was used almost round the clock by the local community for a whole range of events and meetings.
The church fabric was deteriorating through the 1990s, as was the state of the community hall, and in 2001 the Vicar of Cottingley with the support of the Parochial Church Council decided that both would need to be replaced in the very near future.
Together with other members of the local community they commissioned research into the community's needs for facilities and services, and developed a business plan and initial designs for a replacement church and hall.
Rev Canon Sue Pinnington and the vandalised war memorial
And then the War Memorial outside the church was vandalised.
Information about this vandalisation reached the ears of HRH The Prince of Wales, and when the memorial had been repaired Prince Charles asked to be present at the rededication service in September 2002.
Having met many local people and inspired by the story of community involvement in developing a new church and community facilities, Prince Charles involved his Prince's Foundation who came to Cottingley and worked hands on with residents to design a brand new centre for the heart of Cottingley.
And, like Topsy, it grew and grew until the church and hall became part of a development which includes state of the art facilities combined with a range of housing from small apartments to three bedroomed town houses.
Model designed by the local community
As part of this process a new charity was formed, Cottingley Cornerstone Centre, and this now works in close partnership with the Parochial Church Council, the Diocese of Bradford, Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Saltaire Medical Practice as well as employing architects, business development specialists, quantity surveyors and many others.
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