New Britian Branch set to open Dec. 31, 2019?

JustVisting

According to the August JW Broadcast the new Britian Branch is scheduled to open by December 31, 2019 and is currently the 2nd largest construction project (assuming Warwick is the largest). Are the current facilities that spread out that a more centalized location the main reason for acquiring and developing an 85 acre site? Also, with the end looming on the horizon, what message does that send regarding making long-term plans?

Comments, please from those who live in the UK or are familiar with London Bethel. The property in question is in Chelmsford. What kind of area is this? Judging from the broadcast it seems very barren, with few trees (is this due to nuclear or chemical waste deposits?)

Sabin

I believe its a wealthy area. Good real estate. Go on youtube, look up Macr & Cora they have a lot of details about this suject

krejames

Chelmsford is my home town and my immediate JW family is still there.

Like Sabin said, it's a wealthy to middle-class, growing town which has recently acquired city-status. Definitely on the up. It also has good transport links to the south east of England and London and is on the right side of london for the ports and channel tunnel.

The site they have bought was previously used as a scrap-yard, as I understand it, so a lot of the land is contaminated (so I'm sure they got more for their money). The construction has local political support because it will improve what was an eye-sore and hazardous area.

My old congregation is heavily involved, with some of the brothers dedicating the next five years of their lives and careers to the construction effort. Families are hosting brothers that come in from elsewhere to help with the project.

On top of that, last year the Chelmsford congregations acquired a new building which will house their new kingdom hall right smack bang in the centre of the city and work has been going on all year to kit it all out. I understand it's due to open for the first meeting later this month. My family tell me a its a big facility and will be used for local JW schools such as for pioneer schools, elder schools and so on.

So there is a massive amount of excitement and activity going on in the Chelmsford area for JW Land! They are in uber spiritual paradise! ;)

steve2

It's completion is just under 4 1/2 years away, plenty of time so very, very deep in the last days of this wicked system of things. JW organization - always time to build up its resources, but not enough time left to further your education so you can build a life commensurate with your strengths, abilities and talents.

Sauerkraut

What is it with the Watchtower Society and former waste disposal sites?

stan livedeath

this so that after armageddon the watchtower will have a purpose built place to run the country from.

Half banana

I wish is was in New Britain ...a lush and tropical volcanic island and province of Papua New Guinea!

Sadly it's here in England and all the easier to convince the faithful that Big J is looking after them. It's a bit like the Catholic Church with its hyper wealth and power giving the worshippers a sense of divine glory by the magnificence of its buildings.

If Armageddon was really coming they would really put all their effort into preaching... but since it's not coming the effort goes into property development as per normal.

dozy

The WTBTS looked at a similar project in Milton Keynes which was well down the planning stage before the GB ditched it after 9/11 assuming Armageddon was imminent.

I have a JW relative who does some accounts and IT work for the Society & he quite openly acknowledges that there isn't any real case for the move other than financial. The Society have only just finished some refurbishment work on the former "Bittacy Hill" complex at Bethel and the facilities there are perfectly adequate. Although the Britain branch does produce literature for other countries , If anything , the Society needs to downsize to smaller printing facilities now as they are producing less magazines & books with the move online with JW.Org.

There is an obvious financial case in selling North London properties that have boomed in recent years & relocating. Doubtless in 15 or 20 years time or so the complex will be flipped and they will re-locate somewhere else. That is the way the society do business these days - it has changed from a religious book publisher to a property development company. If you can get the bulk of the labour costs done by "volunteers" and enjoy all the tax exemptions and subsidies of a charity then it really is a no-brainer.

The Searcher

Dozy got it spot on - the money to made from London property sales is so easy, because the majority of real estate buyers are foreigners from China, Russia, and the far east.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26980299

The IBSA in Britain will make a lot of money when it begins selling its London properties.

Developers will be fighting each other to get their hands on the Mill Hill land.

OneFingerSalute

Also, with the end looming on the horizon, what message does that send regarding making long-term plans?

The end looming in sight? Not so much anymore. I made the comment to an uber dub that the focus has shifted, using the WT words for proof. Last Sunday WT said this is par. 16, "IF we maintain our Christian integrity, we MAY well witness one of the greatest miracles of all time--the miracle of surviving the great tribulation."

I then asked what happened to the term SOON that was often used thirty or forty years ago, and the term VERY SOON used only a few short years ago? He just had a blank look on his face.

New Britian Branch set to open Dec. 31, 2019?

Share this