Proposal seeks Cardiff cabinet approval to write off £120,000 debt
PLANS to transfer the Norwegian Church to a new charitable body led by the Welsh Norwegian Society will be presented to Cardiff Council Cabinet this Thursday.
The report proposes that the WNS take on the lease, assets and day-to-day management of the church and requests approval to write off the church’s £122,808 trading deficit.
“The Norwegian Church is one of the most iconic buildings on Cardiff Bay’s waterfront and we have to find new ways of protecting it for future generations,” said Councillor Russell Goodway, cabinet member for investment and development.
“This will hopefully provide a sustainable future for the church while respecting its links with our colleagues in Norway,” he said.
Cardiff council was elected as a trustee to the Norwegian Church Preservation Trust in 2006 and has since subsidised the trust due to its average annual deficit of £20,000.
By transferring the church to the WNS through a new charity – Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay – the council hopes to address its financial liabilities for the Church’s operating and maintenance costs.
It is estimated that £90,000 is needed to bring the building up to standard, but this hasn’t deterred the WNS from wanting to take on the church’s existing lease and requesting a 25-year lease extension.
“The Welsh Norwegian Society have already secured some funds and are actively seeking further funding should a transfer be agreed,” said Councillor Peter Bradbury, cabinet member for culture and leisure.
“The society understand the traditional values of the Norwegian Church and plan to invest in and improve the building while honouring its original features and history.”
Consecrated in 1868, the Norwegian Church was a Lutheran place of worship for Scandinavian sailors at a time when Cardiff Docks was the world’s greatest exporter of coal. The church is also the place where best-selling author Roald Dahl was baptised.
“To me, the church represents a strong tangible reminder of the international heritage of our capital city,” said Dr Martin Price, chair of trustees for the new charity.
He said: “I want it to be an important part of the visitor experience of Cardiff Bay. I want people to understand why it is there and why Norway was so important to the maritime and industrial heritage of South Wales.
“In the past, there have been many community groups using the church and we will be reaching out to them. We also plan to work with local primary schools as they implement the new Curriculum for Wales.”
Since its restoration in the early 1990s the Norwegian Church has been used as a café, art gallery and meeting place but has been closed from the beginning of the pandemic.
Dr Price said: “Our current plans are to reopen in spring 2022 in time for the Easter weekend when more people visit the Bay than in the colder winter months.
“We are thinking of an official opening on May 17 which is Norway’s Constitution Day, a very important day for Norwegians.”
In the lead up to Christmas the Norwegian Church will be hosting a Festival of Light and Friendship which will include carol singing and Christmas tree decoration workshops. More details can be found here.
