The minister and church community at the United Reformed Church have been working tirelessly to find the right way forward for their Christian community and their buildings.
The community were faced with a huge sum of £750,000 for complete repair for a variety of problems ranging from large patches of damp, several leaks in the roof and dilapidated masonry. All of this is made more complicated by the fact that the church has a Grade II listing. Whilst they very much wish to keep the building open and working as a place of worship, the scale of these problems cannot be underestimated.
After much research and thought, the church community decided to sell the hall sites at the rear to raise funds for a sympathetic restoration of the remainder of the building. Works are likely to commence within the next 12-15 months. Unfortunately, whilst the Grade II listing guarantees protection for the church, it does not offer any funding support.
We wish the United Reformed Church every success in this project and hope to bring members news of the restoration in the months to come.