St. John the Baptist’s Church was identified as a key development opportunity in the masterplanning activity our atelier had carried out based on a holistic analysis of Bollington. The key principle guiding the urban planning and design of the civic area was to create an accessible, identifiable town center that provided inclusive social and community facilities. Despite falling into disuse, the church building holds both architectural merit and historic importance. This project takes opportunity of this dead space in the town to respond to the needs of the community through the conversion of the church building into a library. The passive nature of a library complements the quiet, solemn quality of its surrounding graveyard, which is still actively visited. Family homes have also been designed in the empty land west of the church in response to the housing needs in Bollington.