The Christ Church Renewal Project – 17th January 2017

2017-04-26T19:54:52+01:00

For some years Christ Church has been planning a renovation project which aims to make the building more accessible, warmer, lighter and more flexible for use by both its congregation and the local community. This involves the installation of new heating and lighting systems, a new wooden floor giving level access across the church, improved audio and visual facilities as well as the removal of the side aisle pews and a new storage area in the North transept. The central pews will be retained as now although the 3 smaller pews at the rear of the church will also be removed to enable new radiator positions and to provide more space in the welcome area.

You can also download the key information from the links below:

plan-icon

Drawing of the existing church layout

Proposed Floor plan

More details of the proposals themselves

 

 

The Christ Church Renewal Project – 17th January 20172017-04-26T19:54:52+01:00

Christ Church Renewal Project gets the green light

2017-02-22T10:55:08+00:00

We are pleased to announce that Christ Church has been awarded a faculty to proceed with its renewal works. This follows a lengthy consultation process during which various interested parties have been given the opportunity to comment and provide advice on the work.

It is difficult to find suitable times to complete such a complex and extensive set of works but we have identified an opportunity during the 8 weeks commencing 6th February 2017 and 6th April. In order to ensure that the work has the best chance of completion prior to a wedding booked on the 8th April and the Easter celebration the following week, it has been decided to close the church completely. This will allow the various trades the maximum flexibility to carry out the work on the new heating system, lighting, new wooden floor, storage area and audio visual improvements.

During the closure of the church arrangements for worship will be as follows:

  • 8am – Holy Communion Service in the Large Meeting Room
  • 10am – All Age and Holy Communion Services in the Main Hall and Garden Room, with the choir being unrobed. Sunday Club will either be with the main worship, or in Chris’ office or in the Vicarage, to be confirmed.
  • 4pm  – Sunday @ 4 in the Main Hall and Garden Room as normal.
  • 30pm – Evening Worship, in the Main Hall and Garden Room.
  • Midweek – 9am Morning Prayer – in the Large Meeting Room, and on some days when this is not available, in the Vicarage.  These locations will be confirmed.
  • Wednesday – 10.30am service in the Large Meeting Room, or at St Mary’s.  These locations will be confirmed.

We hope that the result of this investment will be a renewed, refreshed and revitalised church building – fit to meet the challenges and expectations of those who use it both for regular worship, occasional service and for recreation and entertainment now and in the future.

You can read about our plans in more detail here.

Christ Church Renewal Project gets the green light2017-02-22T10:55:08+00:00

Congregational Update – 2015

2016-01-21T20:50:01+00:00

Members of the congregation received a letter on  Easter Sunday with important news about our future plans for Christ Church. You can read the letter and the other documents that provide context for its thinking in the documents below.

We would like to hear your views and comments. You can feedback to us here https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/blog/2015/05/whats-your-view/

 

Congregational Update – 20152016-01-21T20:50:01+00:00

What’s your view?

2016-04-27T17:53:12+01:00

We are in the process of putting forward proposals to make some changes to the interior of Christ Church (A simple summary of the proposals). They are in response to the need to preserve this Grade II * listed building for future generations by ensuring that it continues to play a central role in the local community and, as such is able to cope with the demands of 21st Century users. In brief these changes involve the installation of a new energy efficient and controllable heating system, new LED lighting, a flat wooden floor throughout the church to enable improved access for the young and old. It will mean the removal of the remaining pews in the North and South aisles and the proposed removal of a number of pews at the very front of the Nave. You can read about the changes in more detail here:

What’s your view?2016-04-27T17:53:12+01:00

Community Centre Progress

2013-10-26T19:47:57+01:00

As many of you will have noticed, the ground works are seriously underway at Christ Church at the moment. The large trenches that have been cut are to provide an independent 3 phase electrical power supply to the new centre. This will prevent the problems we get now with insufficient electrical loading between the church’s electrics and the centres.Front trench The under floor heating is being installed  next week, as are the doors and windows so at last the building will be properly secure. Our solar panels have been installed and will be ready to start delivering 20kw of electricity once connected (and when the sun shines!)2013-09-10 12.21.06

Do take care around the church paths as they are unavoidably muddy and, for the next few weeks, will continue to be rather uneven in places.

We are still looking for volunteers to help to run the many different aspects of the centre so if you have a little spare time and energy please contact our development manager Christ Smith and introduce yourself – his number is 07582 305760 or email him on chris.smith@ccccswindon.co.uk

We are still on target to finish the building by the end of October.

You can see the full picture gallery of our building project here.

As some of you may have seen, we are once again in the local paper – you can read the article here.

CClogo

As some of you may have seen, we are once again in the local paper –

Community Centre Progress2013-10-26T19:47:57+01:00

Minutes of the Buildings & Site Development Committee Meeting – 4th Sept 2013

2013-09-06T15:19:05+01:00

Present :  Stephen Grosvenor, Mike Palmer, Reg Hardwick, John Plaister,Lynda Fisher  – Aplogies: Kevin Penfold, Daniel Pitt, Mark Antell,

Item 1. SG said a short prayer.

Lynda explained that she was attending meetings of each of the church committee groups offering support and checking that everything was working as envisioned.

 Item 2. Minutes of last meeting – reviewed –

All outstanding items have been included in the agenda.

Item 3. –Budget Summary  – see cumulative spend at the end of these minutes. Still well within this year’s allocation. There are some issues relating to expenditure under the CC project that may for accounting purposes be better expressed in general building costs. SG to discuss with Ian on his return from holiday.

Item 4. – Christ Church

 a)   West porch Project. AFK has produced a design and plans and elevations suitable for submission to the DAC for licencing purposes. We have however deferred doing this as we hope to include the new AV console position in the application. Bernard is working on a design and AFK will incorporate it for us into the Plans. We are aiming to submit an application by the October DAC meeting with a view to proceeding in Spring 2014 subject to final agreement from the PCC.

b)   Action SG to discuss Roof material and light in the porch with AFK.

b) LED Lighting – The new lighting fitments are nearly ready and we hope to start the trial in the Lady Chapel in by the end of September. We will aim to get reactions from people throughout the winter months and review the position in Spring.

 c) AV update – We will need to re-position the AV control console once the new porch is built. Although Bernard and Mike have done a number of new microphone installations themselves and saved a significant amount of money, we are still some way off agreeing a final specification for the AV – with particular regard to video, projection capabilities and screens. Also a possible upgrade for the organ and choir recording capabilities has yet to be agreed. JP has identified an innovative possible screen made of special glass which may obviate the need for expensive and potentially intrusive control mechanisms for the screen. ACTION: SG to investigate prices and technology further.

d). Damaged South transept window/Repointing. Dan Pitt has contacted AFK for advice and has the names of some masons to approach for quotes. Our advice is that the repair should be done in the next 18 months or so. The Friends have already offered to help to offset some of the costs for this project JP has also identified an area on the north transept wall which needs re-pointing/repair. We have a reasonable quote from Rob Flemming for this work. We will aim to get a further quote with a view to carrying out the job prior to winter.

f) Asbestos removal from old boiler room. This action is carried forward. We have already had an estimate and this work should now be done once the CC contractors have cleared the site. ACTION MP to find quote and confirm costs – proposal is to proceed to get the works completed so we can continue to safely use the storage.

Item 5. St Mary’s Church – This action carried forward again- the paintwork in St Mary’s is in a poor state of repair. We will add it to the work in progress list and review options for getting it done. ACTION MP to see if Community Service Volunteers would do it.

 Item 6 Community Centre update

a)   The building completion date is still on target for the end of October. There has been a robbery of copper piping from the site and the contractor has taken steps to protect the site until next week when it will be securable. Internal boarding is complete; Solar panels have been installed on the roof. We have agreed the kitchen design and will be placing an equipment order in the next few days. The Friends of Christ Church have kindly donated £4k towards it. Doors and windows will be installed next week. The underfloor heating will be installed shortly afterwards.

b)   Cost updates –as a result of the building regulation inspection, we have now received a quote for the improvement of the roadways and paths around the west of the church. We are required, for fire access, to widen and improve some of our pathways. This cost has exceeded our initial estimates by a significant amount and as a result we are looking for savings in the cost scheme to offset this overspend as far as possible. On the positive side, we are hoping to receive significantly more than budgeted from the sale of the Parish office so this will further help to mitigate the costs.

 c)    Rubbish arrangments – The contract with Biffa seems to be working ok and the rubbish from the burial ground is under control at the moment. We will need to continue to review the situation once the centre is operational.

 d)   Paths & Lighting – we have received an innovative proposal from Binary electronics for path lighting in and around the Community centre. This will use LED low wattage bollard lights which will be controllable and highly cost effective to operate.

 e)   Garden of Reflection – we have asked the winner of the garden design to extend her design to incorporate the area to the north which was previously intended to be used as storage. We are receiving invaluable help and advice from Ian Handy re the garden itself. ACTION – MP to follow up with Ian.

 f)    Area outside the East end of the centre. – we still don’t have a design for this space but intend to produce one in the next couple of weeks. We have agreed with the building contractor that levels can be established whilst he is preparing the ground for the paths etc ACTION – SG & DP to measure up and produce an outline plan for the garden

Item 7 Property Checks –

As a  result of Annual Property check carried out on 32. Points a & b are outstanding

a)   Work Outstanding – Re-plastering required following difficulties with damp and mould in the dining room. ACTION MP to recommend some plasterers to occupant so that she can arrange for them to visit and quote.

b)   Work outstanding  – PV Front doorshould be replaced as it doesn’t fit properly and is very drafty Karen has had details of plasterers but hasn’t acted on them yet

Item 8 Any other business

Next Meeting: 6th November 7.30 – Community Centre@Christ Church room to be confirmed.

 Deferred Jobs list

Job

Quote

Date

Rated A/B/C/D

SW door repair and draft exclusion Defer to D&R 20/01/2010

C

Pressure washing the vestry steps    

C

Flooding under the clergy vestry   25/03/2010

C

Cycle Racks Defer to new hall 27/07/2010

C

Wall mounted Notice board at West door £95+VAT 31/03/2011

C/D

Free standing Noticeboard at West door £375+VAT S&I 31/03/2011

C/D

Sign for Church Centre (maybe directional signage   rather than the name) Defer 31/03/2011

D

New fireproof ceiling in the undercroft Defer 20/02/2012

B/C

Asbestos removal – church awaiting 14/11/12

B

South transept S &West window repairs Seeking quotes 14/11/12

C

Remove nave screens from the front pews to aid flow   from familys and young people during services. Defer- issues identified with H&S and costs. 19/01/2013

D

Repainting St Marys Reviewing options 09/05/13

D

New smoke alarms 32 ? Carbon monoxide monitor? Reviewing options 09/05/13

C

A- Assessed as high risk

B- Legal requirement

C- Best Practice.

D – Nice to do.

Cost Schedule 201

Job Date Contractor Sum paid
LC Toilet repair Jan D.Hobbs £60.00
Damp fix – 31 Feb In house £54.00
Boiler Checks Feb D Hobbs £156.00
Boiler replacement -32 May G Hall £3,000
Tree Pollarding May N Freshwater £650
Leaking radiator/Light 32 July GV £282.00
New post code for centre July SBC £60.00
       
       

 

Minutes of the Buildings & Site Development Committee Meeting – 4th Sept 20132013-09-06T15:19:05+01:00

Community Centre Delayed

2013-08-18T00:32:48+01:00

Although we have made some dramatic progress with the build over the past 3-4 weeks, we have just had an update from the Timberworks Project team  that puts the completion date back to the end of OctoberStructure.

This news is rather disappointing but cannot be helped. It  is largely due to the very difficult nature of our site – between 2 conservation listed walls and in the middle of a burial ground. In normal circumstances the wall panels are pre-constructed in the factory and thus the build can be very quick. We have provided some especially challenging conditions for the team and they have been forced to re-evaluate their timetable. They will, of course, do all they can to recover some time if possible.

Expect to see a roof appearing in the next 2-3 weeks and do keep an eye on our photo gallery of the build progress here.

Community Centre Delayed2013-08-18T00:32:48+01:00

Minutes of Site Development Meeting 17th July

2013-07-23T14:05:11+01:00

Present :  Stephen Grosvenor, Mike Palmer, Reg Hardwick, John Plaister,

Aplogies: Kevin Penfold, Daniel Pitt, Mark Antell,

Item 1. SG said a short prayer.

Item 2. Minutes of last meeting – reviewed –

All outstanding items have been included in the agenda.

Item 3. –Budget Summary  – see cumulative spend at the end of these minutes

Item 4. – Christ Church

 

a) West porch Project. AFK has now been to measure up and has started to design the porch. We will produce a plan that we can use to submit to the DAC for a faculty application. This will include the removal of some of the pews at the rear of the church to create a better circulation space. We aim to submit a DAC application in September/October.

 b) LED Lighting – We have awarded a contract to Binary electronics and have paid a deposit and officially commissioned the new lighting scheme for the Lady Chapel trial. The work is due for completion sometime in September. We will seek the opinions of the congregation and interested parties over the winter and consider our options early in the new year.

 c) AV update – Various trials have been carried out to optimise the microphone placement in the choir area. These have been largely inconclusive –more tests will be done in due course although this is not currently a priority.

 d). Damaged South transept window/Repointing. Dan Pitt has contacted AFK for advice and has the names of some masons to approach for quotes. Our advice is that the repair should be done in the next 18 months or so. The Friends have already offered to help to offset some of the costs for this project but this is subject to ratification from the new chair of the Friends. JP has also identified an area on the north transept wall which needs re-pointing/repair. We intend to approach Rob Flemming to quote for this work with a view to carrying it out prior to winter.

 f) Asbestos removal from old boiler room. This action is carried forward. We have already had an estimate and this work should now be done as soon as possible. ACTION MP to find quote and confirm costs – proposal is to proceed to get the works completed so we can continue to safely use the storage.

 Item 5. St Mary’s Church – This action carried forward – the paintwork in St Mary’s is in a poor state of repair. We will add it to the work in progress list and review options for getting it done. ACTION MP to see if Community Service Volunteers would do it also discuss options with Dan re using students from the college.

 Item 6 Community Centre update

a)   Foundations were completed at the end of June and the building arrived in storage just outside Swindon. The East end of the car park has been sectioned off to accommodate the building materials for the next 6-8 weeks. Despite some delays, the building skeleton is now up and the new opening for the main entrance has been cut. We have applied for some amendments to the faculty as the entrance is further east than expected. This involves relocating the Keylock memorial – an enquiry has already been made to the diocese for this. It will cost extra. The Morris memorial has been successfully moved to its new location in the garden of reflection.

 b)   Parish office & Kitchen designs – We are in consultation with all interested parties to confirm the final designs and specification of the office and kitchen. A change to the existing plan has been proposed to move the ante-room to the east so that it is adjacent to the main entrance. Plans are being prepared to create an office layout and Chris Smith and Mike have been to the council resources department and identified some desks that can be used. Particular attention will be paid to ensuring that parish office activities can be properly supported in the new facility.

 

c)    Rubbish arrangments – The contract with Biffa seems to be working ok and the rubbish from the burial ground is under control at the moment. We will need to review the situation once the centre is operational.

 d)   Paths & Lighting – we await a quote for the restoration of the roadways and paths ( the main path from the car park and the front path). We have approached Binary Electronics for ideas for low level lighting for the paths – ACTION – MP to follow up with Colin to remind him

 e)   Garden of Reflection – we need to confirm with the burial board if they require the area to the north of the Garden of Reflection for their purposes – if not we should consider using it to erect a shed to act as a supplementary store.  Also we need to liaise with Ian Handy re the garden itself. ACTION – MP to discuss with Bernard Oxborrow and follow up with Ian Handy – budget >4k.

 f)    Area outside the East end of the centre. – we don’t have a plan for this space but it does need to be thought about and planned as it will be a major part of the garden room/public entrance. ACTION – MP to discuss options with Ian Handy

 g)    Archaeology – As part of our planning permissions we hired an archaeologist to complete a watching brief as we start foundation digging – this contract has been subsumed into the Timberworks project to save VAT costs. The work has been completed and billed at £2,600.      

Item 7 Property Checks –

As a  result of Annual Property check carried out on 32. Points a & b & c are outstanding

a)   Work Outstanding – Re-plastering required following difficulties with damp and mould in the dining room. ACTION MP to recommend some plasterers to occupant so that she can arrange for them to visit and quote.

b)   Work outstanding  – PV Front door may need replacing as it doesn’t fit properly and is very drafty – SG suggested it might be fixable – details of the Double Glazing doctor have been passed on to Karen at the same time as MP recommends plasterers – Double Glazing doctor   01793 431788.

c)    The light fitting over the stairs has been repaired as has the leaking radioator – COMPLETE.

Item 8 Any other business

Next Meeting: 4th Sept 7.30 – 51a Broome Manor Lane, SN3 1NB

 Deferred Jobs list

Job

Quote

Date

Rated A/B/C/D

SW door repair and draft exclusion Defer to D&R 20/01/2010

C

Pressure washing the vestry steps    

C

Flooding under the clergy vestry   25/03/2010

C

Cycle Racks Defer to new hall 27/07/2010

C

Wall mounted Notice board at West door £95+VAT 31/03/2011

C/D

Free standing Noticeboard at West door £375+VAT S&I 31/03/2011

C/D

Sign for Church Centre (maybe directional signage rather than the name) Defer 31/03/2011

D

New fireproof ceiling in the undercroft Defer 20/02/2012

B/C

Asbestos removal – church awaiting 14/11/12

B

South transept S &West window repairs Seeking quotes 14/11/12

C

Remove nave screens from the front pews to aid flow from familys and young people during services. Defer- issues identified with H&S and costs. 19/01/2013

D

Repainting St Marys Reviewing options 09/05/13

D

New smoke alarms 32 ? Carbon monoxide monitor? Reviewing options 09/05/13

C

 A- Assessed as high risk

B- Legal requirement

C- Best Practice.

D – Nice to do.

 Cost Schedule 2013

Job Date Contractor Sum paid
LC Toilet repair Jan D.Hobbs £60.00
Damp fix – 31 Feb In house £54.00
Boiler Checks Feb D Hobbs £156.00
Boiler replacement -32 May G Hall £3,000
Tree Pollarding May N Freshwater £650
Leaking radiator/Light 32 July GV £282.00
New post code for centre July SBC £60.00
       
       

 

Minutes of Site Development Meeting 17th July2013-07-23T14:05:11+01:00

Community Centre Update

2013-08-08T13:26:03+01:00

As maStructureny of you will have seen, the new centre is progressing well. The foundations were laid at the end of June and the skeleton of the new building is in place. For those of you puzzled by the  framing that appears just above the stone wall level ( see picture) this is how the Timberworks team intend to clad the walls. Due to the constricted site between the two boundary walls it is very difficult to create the insulated wall panels. Once the walls have been clad and insulated they will be dropped into place behind the stone wall.

A solid run of windows along the north side of the centre will afford a lovely view of the church and will create a light and airy space inside. The new main entrance has been cut in the wall and the Morris Memorial has been successfully relocated in the new (soon to be) Garden of Reflection at the east end of the centre. The Garden has been designed by our competition winner Rachel Titcombe and we hope it will be created in the next 2-3 months.

You can follow the progress of the new building in our photo gallery which is kept regularly updated.

 

 

Community Centre Update2013-08-08T13:26:03+01:00

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