At the end of January the tender letters went out to the contractors chosen to submit a tender. It is hoped that by the end of this month a contractor can be chosen. The decision needs to be made soon so that all can go forward immediately after Easter in the first week of April.

We are also progressing on getting Heritage Lottery funding. The second and final application was submitted in late November. We have answered a few questions since then. We have an important meeting this Wednesday when a member of the committee that will make the decision in early March is coming for a site visit. Everything still looks hopeful to do the organ simultaneously with the new floor. I am constantly grateful for all those who are making this happen. Their generosity with time, energy and creativity is very humbling.

Please see the attached document which will more fully inform you of the details for the floor.

The Church Floor

Arrangements for replacing the sunken church floor are well advanced.
The architect, structural engineer and mechanical engineer have completed their designs and the quantity surveyor has drawn up the tender documents and issued them to contractors last Friday 29th January.

Contractors are expected to return their tenders four weeks later, 26th February, which allows time to evaluate the tenders and appoint a contractor to start work immediately after Easter, on the 6 April.
Firstly the contractor will remove the benches from the church. Some will be taken to the Upper Hall, which we shall use as our temporary church, and the remainder will be stacked behind the altar.
Work will then begin in earnest. The new floor will be supported on piles so that there is no danger of the new floor settling in the same way as the present floor, so the first task will be to install 30 piles, each designed to carry a load of 20 tons.

We are still awaiting confirmation of a lottery fund grant for restoration of the organ and won’t have a definite answer until some time in March. But if the grant is forthcoming (and we are very hopeful that it will be) the organ will be dismantled and removed for restoration while the piling work proceeds.
Once the piles have been installed, the old floor will be removed and replaced with a new reinforced concrete slab. Polystyrene insulation will then be laid on the slab, followed by a screed with under-floor heating pipes laid in it. This under-floor heating will be the principal means of heating the church but there will also be radiators around the outside walls to allow for the coldest winter weather.

When the screed is thoroughly dry, a new wood-block floor will be laid to complete the work. Then, after a good clean, the church will be ready to be re-occupied.

The work is scheduled for completion at the end of November so that we can reclaim our church for our Christmas celebrations.

Unfortunately you won’t be able to wander into the church to have a look at how your money is being spent: health and safety requirements don’t allow that. But photographs will be taken and we will keep you informed of progress via a notice board in the Upper Hall, Edgeways and the parish website.

The Capital Appeal has not yet raised all of the money necessary to meet the cost of this substantial building project, so we are proceeding on an act of faith that your generosity and commitment will continue.

There may be a feeling of ‘camping-out’ in the Upper Hall but I trust that when we return to the church you will judge the enterprise to have been worth the effort.