Health and Safety

There have been no reported health and safety incidents or accidents in the period.

The church path entrance has been blocked off and there is now no thoroughfare between Church and Vicarage Lanes. Access to Dore Old School has been established for parents and children attending First Steps Nursery via the Vicarage Lane entrance. Wider access to the churchyard by visitors is available at this point in the works but this may change as and when external work commences.

Progress and Programme

Progress on the building project has been slower than anticipated in the period. The reason for this is that high severity asbestos was discovered at the front of the nave under the raised podium floor in a supplementary, planned, asbestos survey. The nature of this asbestos and its location required a further (third) survey to be carried out to ensure it was not present under the existing nave floor. This survey took an additional 2 weeks to organise and complete. The positive was that the asbestos was limited to the area under the raised podium floor.

A further two weeks programme time was lost in mobilisation of the asbestos removal company and the removal work taking an additional 1 week to complete from that originally forecast. The asbestos removal exercise is due to be complete at the end of w/c 4 March 24.

However, T&C Williams have progressed the Enabling Works element of their package in the period by removing the pipe organ, the pulpit and the choir vestry cupboards and disconnecting and draining the existing central heating system. This work has revealed that the internal choir vestry/nave wall is in good condition with no water ingress and that there is a substantial existing opening in the wall between the nave and the former organ chamber.

The nave pews, rood screen, organ pipes, a lectern and a Bishops chair have been removed and auctioned in the period as well as a number of surplus hassocks.

Activities in the Next Period

· Completion of asbestos removal

· Removal of existing ceramic tiles in the chancel including investigation into the floor construction.

· Removal of central heating radiators and associated pipework

· Obtain a final version of the Written Scheme of Investigation from ARS

· Issue instructions to Northern Power Grid regarding moving the permanent electrical supply to the Church.

· Trial cores in choir vestry floor to prove construction and thickness.