Building4life  Latest news on progress and fund raising                         

After 3 months we have much to celebrate and thank God for! The build is progressing well, with all the asbestos safely removed, underfloor heating going in and flooring going down. The whole of the electrics and heating have been renewed and the cables/pipes and ducting for the AV have all been put in trenches under the nave.  The ‘big lump of concrete’ that was the end wall of the kitchen has been removed and will be replaced with a larger kitchen and high quality kitchen installers, we are going to get a complete kitchen remodel from Kitchen Central.

The Garden Room has been opened up with the old toilet wall removed and the flat roof repairs above this area have been completed.

Offices and toilets are all up and the arched entrance to the side of the church has been knocked through to create a new south entrance where the old boiler house used to be. The ceiling of the nave has been painted white which brings so much more light and a feeling of space to the building, especially upstairs.

The prayer chapel is now taking shape, and has become the gathering point for all the workforce as it is the only space that can be kept warm in the winter cold. Insulation has been installed everywhere!

We are on budget and on programme to finish the build early in September 2018.

However, we have been really disappointed that so many of our funding bids have not come to fruition due to exceptional demand on grant making bodies this year. Therefore, because we still do not have the full amount to do everything that was envisaged, some reductions have had to be made to the scheme.  These include for example, the re-ordering of the balcony, the building of the Grace Room (the small  extension overlooking the Cricket Ground), the platform lift to the chancel, the porch over the new south side entrance, external flood lighting and resurfacing of the paths on the north side of the building.

The giving from the Christ Church community has been fantastic, and we are so thankful for the offer of a  generous ten year interest-free loan from a church member which has enabled us to add back in some of the vital work that would have had to have been done at a much later date, and at a far greater cost of course.

Our income so far has come from this loan, the sale of assets, a great many individual gifts and two small grants. You can gather for more details, click here now. The time has come now for some ‘fun’ fundraising! We are asking if each of the various groups that are part of the Christ Church community would consider how they might go about doing this – it may be organising a specific event, crowdfunding, a sponsored something etc. Different groups will have different ideas. It would be ideal if we could have an eye on engaging the wider community. There may also be those who have contacts with other people or organisations /businesses that may like to support this major investment in the future of our community.

There is always the opportunity to discuss fundraising possibilities with a member of the B4L team and explore different ideas.  Maggie Nichols, our project co-ordinator, is more than  happy to respond to any questions email: building4life@christchurchdownend.com or tel: 07790 250 853

From now on a short illustrated work in progress report prepared by our contractors, Hart Construction, will be shared every two weeks.

Rory Hart (construction) Andy Morton (project manager), Paul Chester (architect) and our B4L team meet to review and discuss progress regularly.  The latest  architect’s plans  & a 3D interactive drawing can also be viewed on the Church website.

Please continue to hold this project in your prayers as we begin to  see the vision come alive!

This information was on the leaflet for February B4L Building update which contains a variety of recent photos from the Church.

To view the latest drawings via the 3D software open this link,  then click on the person icon and then use the direction arrows on your computer keyboard to walk through the 1st art gallery reviews virtual building.

Architects plans for the main Church ground floor, the garden room and office spaces, the gallery. (These plans show green shading for phase 2 and purple shading for phase 3 of the work if more funding is received).