The Queen described 1992 as her “annus horribilus”. (Horrible year.) The years 2018 and 2019 may be remembered by the PCC in the same way as far as the church building is concerned.

The subsiding floor

The subsiding floor has been exercising Gareth and our wardens for some time. However, it looks like the end is near. However, we realised at the PCC that the biggest task will be emptying and restoring the three affected rooms. (see below)

Boiler Blues

In addition to the floor, we are currently replacing not one, but two, boilers. I need hardly tell you that boilers are one of the most costly items in the building.

The more encouraging news is that PCC has consistently maintained good financial policies down the years. Instead of spending our rental income, we have consistently invested it. We have always paid parish share and other bills out of our regular of giving, meaning we have been able to save for a rainy day. Now that we are facing a rainy week, the wisdom of this policy is clear.

What Exactly Is the Issue With The Subsiding Floor?

Actually raising the subsiding floor is probably the least of our problems. We have identified a firm which can do the work for us. We are confident that they can get the floor back to where it should be.

So what is the problem?

It is preparing the three rooms that have been affected.

The easiest one is the Lounge. There is not much stuff to take out of there. The Creche Room is small but full of toys and other material. But, far and way our biggest issue is going to be the kitchen. Before the work can begin we will need to take everything out of there. That does not just mean the cutlery and crockery, but the ovens and cupboards too.

We are looking for a small team to work with Gareth on the final stage of this project in order to identify the various steps involved, and decide what needs to be done and by when. There is so much to organise that we need to aim for around February 2020 . We are looking for people with some experience in property management or kitchen fitting.

In addition to the work itself, storage of all the items that we will remove is going to be a major issue. Our wardens would love to hear form you if you have knowledge in any of these areas.