Salvation Army to open new territorial headquarters

The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland territory is set to move to a newly constructed headquarters in Denmark Hill, London this autumn. 

Located at 1 Champion Park, the new office is built on land already owned by The Salvation Army and is next door to William Booth College, the historic training centre for officers.

Designed using the latest environmental and energy efficiency standards, the new building will have significantly reduced running costs plus a capacity of 450 means three satellite London offices can be closed or repurposed. 

The decision to build a new headquarters was taken when it became clear that the church and charity was facing many years of expensive repairs at their current headquarters. The 1982 building needed expensive refurbishment to make it safe to work in including replacing the lifts, updating heating systems and other expensive projects that crop up with old and well-worn buildings. 

The Salvation Army’s Territorial Commander for UK and Ireland, Commissioner Anthony Cotterill, said: “Building a new headquarters was not a decision that we took lightly but we realised that it was the most cost-effective option.

“We also had to consider what sort of office we needed for the post pandemic world.  We wanted to combine the flexibility of homeworking with importance of maintaining face to face contact with colleagues to collaborate and work effectively as teams. 

“This new building is essentially the church headquarters for The Salvation Army as well as an administrative hub that supports our work in communities across the UK and Ireland. From ecclesiastical leadership to IT and finance, our head office focus is always supporting our officers, staff and volunteers on the ground who are running our churches, stocking up our foodbanks, providing company for lonely and isolated people and many other essential services.”

Local residents will be able to visit Cafe Hope which is situated on the ground floor on the new building. Cafe Hope will provide training and mentoring opportunities through The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus Service which supports people who have been struggling to find work. 

Cafe customers can also choose to ‘pay it forward’ by adding a little extra to their bill. This extra money will go towards the catering costs for people using our Homeless Support services.

Environmental considerations have been made throughout. Rubble, bricks and concrete from two buildings that previously stood on the site were reused in the build. Trees have been planted to replace those lost by the construction and more than 25 ‘bat-boxes’ will be placed in the surrounding wooded areas.