The monks and trustees have committed to build a new Ubosot Hall on the temple car park together with a ceremonial gateway.  This is a very ambitious project, but we feel confident that we can deliver this unique building as we have the full support of Luang Por Sopano, Abbot of our parent temple in Chiang Mai, and of all our regular supporters.  The project also forms a strategic fit with other developments such as the new Mersey Crossing, the Bridgewater Canal locks restoration scheme, and the Station Quarter project all of which will help with the regeneration of Runcorn Old Town.

The building is designed in the Northern Thai style and will be only the third Ubosot hall in the UK. We are working closely with Halton Borough Council who see the new hall as a great addition to the local community.  The hall will be available for third party use, and will also act as an Emergency Evacuation centre as part of HBC Resilience Planning.

Given the world economic conditions at the start of 2023 we have had to take the prudent decision to split the construction into two phases.  Phase 1 will start in early may 2023 and will cover the perimeter wall works and the drainage connections.  The benefits of this are that it will secure planning consent, and we can afford this from existing funds so do not need to approach banks for loan funding.  Carrying out this work means that the main hall is then easier to price up and to construct.  We will make a decision on when to commence the construction of the hall when we can see a clear path to financing the project without recourse to taking on high levels of debt.