The generous response of parishioners to the Parish Appeal backed by invaluable help and support from the British Province of the Society of Jesus have ensured that we have achieved our first goal of providing within the halls complex a meeting space for young people as well as disabled access to all the halls and to the presbytery. We are therefore now able to consider and plan for our second goal under the Appeal which is to renovate the church floor.

As all who use the church know well the floor has sunk noticeably towards the centre. The problem is not of recent origin and in fact goes back almost a century to the time when the floor was dug up to make way for the large ducts needed to heat the church via an early warm air system. This work harmed the integrity of the original floor which unfortunately was constructed without reinforcement. Later, post WWII, changes have seen some of the ducts and particularly the one in the centre used to house the pipework serving later, including the current, radiator heating systems.

When installed none of the heating pipework within the ducts was insulated and although some of the heat generated finds its way back into the church, the rest goes into the sub soil and has very possibly contributed to the sinkage by drying out the ground below. Moreover some of this pipework is now inaccessible for maintenance being buried beneath the extended Sanctuary when the church was re-ordered. Apart from this the lack of insulation on the pipes below ground inhibits effective control of the system, adds needlessly to running costs and runs completely counter to our present policies of value for money and conservation.

However heating issues are only part of the wider problems which include inadequate quality and consolidation of the material making up the sub floor as well as the unreinforced top slab; plus related problems with the wood blocks on top of the slab which have moved as the floor itself has sunk. Therefore the blocks no longer fit properly and result in several places where the benches rock and move around uncomfortably as well as being very unsightly. The saving grace is that the floor problems are entirely separate from the main structure and foundation of the church building and can equally be dealt with on their own without causing wider difficulties.

So what is the right answer? We are blessed with advice from an experienced team comprising an acclaimed conservation architect, an equally able structural engineer and skilled advice from a specialist building services engineer on heating and energy conservation matters, together with input on costs and construction methods from a specialist builder. Between them they have first recommended a relatively simple structural solution. After removing the benches to store and stripping off the existing wood blocks, just the top slab and top layer of the old floor will be broken up and removed. Most of the existing and inadequate fill material below the slab, which would be messy and time consuming to excavate and remove, will be left in place but will form no part of the new design. Instead a suitable grid of mini piles will be drilled through the old fill material into the sub soil and provide a new foundation at the right level for a properly constructed and reinforced replacement floor slab.

The new slab will be suitably insulated and following detailed consideration of alternatives the existing underground pipes and radiators serving the central nave will be replaced by a network of looped pipes above the floor slab to provide even underfloor heating throughout the main area of the church. A new screed will embed these pipes and the floor will be finished with new oak blocks over the whole area. This is likely to be the least costly solution though we will allow the option when inviting tenders of cleaning, renovating and reusing the existing blocks should it prove economic to do so. The wall mounted radiators along the side aisles will be retained and augmented as necessary to maintain comfort and improved controls installed.

A significant advantage of the underfloor system is that it concentrates the heat input low down where it is most needed and saves much of the 65% heat loss from the existing nave radiators into the upper reaches of the church where it is largely wasted. The proposed change should therefore be much more energy efficient. The use of underfloor heating also opens the possibility of installing a ground sourced heat pump to serve it potentially saving even more energy. We shall be investigating this possibility further but as a separate project and in the hope that some part of the additional costs will attract government assistance.

The structural part of these proposals which includes a new permanent ramp at the top of the north aisle in place of the single step currently providing access to the Sacristy has been put before our relevant Diocesan Historic Churches Committee, which includes representatives from English Heritage, and approved. Our later heating proposals which remove clutter and improve access from the side aisles to the central benches seem unlikely to cause any qualms, though we shall of course refer back to the committee to make sure. Meanwhile we are now proceeding to complete the designs and draw up the documents needed to invite competitive tenders, when our funding allows.

Present indications are that the costs including consultant’s fees will be of the order of £550,000 and that we need to allow 6 months clear to undertake the work. Very provisionally therefore we hope to be able to start the work in May 2010 in order to be finished by the start of Advent in that year.