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As we move into early Summer and hopefully into a warmer and drier spell of weather our Contractors, T& C Williams Ltd., have been working hard on our behalf to make progress. The early months of the project have been characterised by opening up and discovery of the parts of the building normally hidden from view. As many owners of an old property will be familiar with, that process of discovery has uncovered more issues with the substructure than were foreseen and expected. With this likelihood in mind, our budget for the works included a cost contingency for the unexpected. We are fortunate that we have a strong team of consultants led by John Cunnington, our architect, as well as a local experienced contractor to assist us in finding solutions and putting them in place. To date we have encountered completely rotten beams supporting the existing floor in the nave, two large openings in the floor of the Nave near the Chancel, a very wide and tall opening in the wall between the Nave and the former organ chamber and unsuitable foundations for the new floors in the Chancel and Entrance Hall. We have also undertaken to reconstruct the former choir vestry wall during the building project as it became clear that the longterm water ingress issues were due to porous construction of the existing internal and external walls. A recent survey of the belltower ceiling has regrettably uncovered rot, woodworm and historic water ingress. All these things have required individual consideration and suitable design revision. As an example, the solution for opening between the Nave and the former organ chamber is now in its third iteration. However, progress is definitely being made: we have a new concrete floor slab in the Chancel, new beams to support the floor in the Nave are in place, asbestos has been completely removed; temporary works have been installed in the former organ chamber; external works have been carried out to form the foundation for the new entrance and, as I write this, we have an agreed construction detail for the choir vestry wall. Current work items in progress are first fix of electrics, completion of the reconstruction of the choir vestry wall; installation of a new gas supply box on the Vicarage Lane elevation; finalisation of the scope of the proposed Audio Visual (AV) system. There are a number of work items that remain subject to the approval of the Diocesan Advisory Committee; lighting, underfloor heating system, Chairs and the final form of the opening between the Nave and the organ chamber. One by one, and in the order required to maintain progress, we are closing these items out with the DAC. Because of the extent of the unforeseen issues with the building substructure, we have lost schedule time in developing revised designs and agreeing their costs. Compared to our initial contract we estimate that, at the end of May, we are between 6 and 9 weeks behind the agreed contract programme. Some 4 weeks of this delay was incurred in additional asbestos surveys and the subsequent removal of some particularly hazardous asbestos. It would be ambitious at this point to make cast iron predictions of end date for the construction and commissioning of the reworked building. This will become clearer as building work progresses through June, July and August and will be subject to further communication in Autumn 24. Costs are under control and considered assessments of estimated final cost made each month are carefully scrutinised and agreed with RLB, our Cost consultants. Despite the generous giving of the church family and grant bodies and the ongoing fundraising activities it remains likely that a portion of the overall construction and fit out costs will need to be financed by a loan from a lender specialising in the financing of ecclesiastical building developments.
The project for redeveloping Christ Church is gathering pace. The recent and welcome news is that the church received support from Bishop Pete, the Diocesan Advisory Committee and then the Chancellor for the revised and simplified plans that were submitted. We now have all the permissions we need to start. Martin Blower, Iain Lowe, Andy Patrick and John Cunnington, architect, worked with consultants to look at possible savings and brought the cost of the construction for Phase 2 down to £671,000. When adding the consultants fees and contingency this approximates to an overall cost of £800,000. On the other side of the coin the Fundraising Team and Steve Clarke, deputy treasurer, have worked on raising money. Applications for funding to trusts have numbered over 40. We are very grateful to Sheffield Church Burgesses Trust, Benefact Trust, Garfield Weston, Gavins Foundation, Cutlers’ Trust, Dore School Charity and Land Trust, Sheffield Diocesan Board of Finance and Aviva for their support for Phase 2. We await the results of three more trusts who will report back by the end of January whether or not we have been successful. The PCC met for an extra meeting on 30th November 2023 dedicated to looking at the financial background and whether we should step out in faith at this point and sign contracts. The PCC decided that it was important to do this because deferring would incur significant costs from inflation and renegotiation. This will mean that because there was a potential £200,000 shortfall a loan or loans would need to be arranged. The day after the meeting we received welcome news, as a result of your prayers, that we had been awarded £25,000 and so the total we need to borrow is starting to come down. There have been exploratory conversations between Steve Clarke and 4 potential lenders regarding a loan. Some members of the church congregation have come forward to say they are prepared to loan the church some money. This would be arranged through Steve Clarke who is happy to have confidential conversations with you if that is what you wish to explore. The decision of the PCC was to direct Martin Blower to sign the contract with our construction company T&C Williams, Builders of Sheffield. This is good news for us as an eco-church that we have a local company with a smaller carbon footprint and also gives local Sheffield tradespeople work. So what next? There will be a phase of communication with our church family and then the neighbours and community. The church building closes on the last day of the year with a combined thanksgiving service at 10am. The whole church will come together and give thanks for God’s goodness helping us along a difficult road. On 8th January some items such as the Decalogue Plaque will be removed and put in safe storage for conservation. Others such as the pews will be removed. The next few months will see changes and this can be both exciting and unnerving. The church leadership will be communicating regularly with you about what is happening to the church building and if you have any questions please speak with a member of your PCC. Update from the PCC December 2023
