BYC – November update
We are pleased to report that the builders are progressing well with the refurbishment of the ancillary buildings, and are broadly on schedule and on budget!
As at the end of November, after substantial work on the structures and electrics, noticeable changes have emerged – such as new skylights, new heating and air conditioning equipment, solar panels on the roof, and progress on the conversion of the stage to storage – see the various pictures below.
The spaces already feel very different – and we are getting very excited about the imminent installation of (many!) new windows and the doors.
The major part of the builders’ contract work should hopefully be completed by or near Christmas – but there are many steps still needed to allow St Andrew’s back in our home, to make it fully fit for purpose and once again ready to serve the community of Oxshott.
By the grace of God, we currently anticipate the likely sequence as:
- By end December: Major contract works completed.
- By end January: Snagging, decoration, furnishing, etc. Commissioning of new equipment, etc., etc. largely completed.
- Mid-February: Reinstatement of the Office – furniture, IT infrastructure, etc.; recovery/sorting of items in storage and across the village; reinstatement of AV in church, etc.
- By the end of February: Our whole Church of St Andrew’s is born again!
Thank you again for all your, patience, ongoing support and faithful prayers.
BYC – September update
As planned, the builders are now on site and hard at work tackling the clearance of the ancillary buildings, in preparation for their refurbishment! As you can see from the pictures below, they have been removing ceilings, walls and cupboards as required, and dealing with the electrics, alarms, etc.; they are on schedule.
St Andrew’s is now in full ‘business as usual’ mode! The arrangements for using different venues across the village are working well. But we still need to be flexible, so do check the Weekly News and elsewhere on this website for details of the timing and location of services, meetings and other events.
The Church Office has been relocated for the duration of the project to the southwest corner of the church itself – a complicated move in itself, with power, telephones, printers, wi-fi, etc. – so opening hours will be more limited, but contact by email or telephone will be picked up as promptly as possible.
Thank you again for all your ongoing support and prayers.
BYC – August update
The good news was announced in church this Sunday (11 August) that the long-awaited refurbishment of our ancillary buildings will start next month!
As you will be aware, we have been working with our advisers and contractors to produce an exciting scheme of refurbishment, within our generous budget, and we now have sufficient clarity to announce that work will start in September, straight after Patrick’s collation and induction as Vicar.
A priority will be fixing the (leaking!) roof, so the corridor and rooms off it will be the first to be impacted…. but we fully intend to carry out as many of the usual St Andrew’s activities as we can. We already have various arrangements in place for use of the Village Centre, the Royal Kent School and the new Scouts & Guides centre, so please be ready to be flexible and alert to changes in venue over the coming months!
We will bring you more news shortly, and appreciate your ongoing support and prayers.
BYC – May update
As you may be aware, because of the increased building costs of our planned project we had applied for a grant from Your Fund Surrey to put alongside our own significant contribution.
They have now advised us, that, with regret, this has been declined. Whilst they say “they were supportive of our ideas and can see that they could provide some valuable benefits to the community, the additional benefits to the broader community are not sufficient or broad enough” for them to contribute.
This is obviously disappointing, but there is much good news: we now have the certainty of our new Vicar in Patrick, and we continue to see the growth in various newly-created activities. And because of people’s generous giving, we do have the money to deliver some considerable enhancement and improvements to our buildings, and indeed we are now free from any obligation to outside funders.
We have therefore decided to move forward, and we are already engaged with our advisers and contractors to produce a more modest, but still exciting scheme.
We hope to bring you news of more detailed plans and dates in the coming weeks. We are optimistic that work might be able to start this summer, and appreciate your ongoing support and prayers.
BYC – December update
The main news since our previous update is that our application for funding from Your Fund Surrey was submitted on 29 December. You will recall that the tenders we received were all considerably higher than our original budget, but success in our application to Your Fund Surrey will reduce, or even eradicate, the funding gap.
You will also recall that Your Fund Surrey’s timeframe means that we will not get a decision from them until March 2024 – and one of their requirements is that we cannot start work before then. But in the interim we are continuing our preparations, including for vacating the ancillary buildings, and by further discussions with Ash Contracting, our preferred partner for this project.
At the close of 2023, it is worth reminding ourselves that a year ago we had no firm plans, incomplete governance for the project, much less funding, no agreement from the Diocese and no planning permission! The church leadership remains strongly behind the scheme and this month the Archdeacon also confirmed that the forthcoming Vacancy in the parish would itself be no reason to delay progress; we are therefore very encouraged to explore all options to make it happen.
For more information about the project see Building Your Church
BYC – November update
We were pleased to receive four responses to our Tender invitations from the list of potential contractors, but disappointingly, each one quoted a figure over £1 million (excluding VAT). The best is from Ash Contracting, who acted in this role on Phase 1 and consequently, whilst much work remains to be done, we are now in further discussions with them as our preferred partner on this project.
The figure is much higher than we had hoped for, even allowing for the inflation that we had anticipated, and is a significant increase from our original budget. We need to redouble our efforts to ensure we only do what is really needed to better provide for our existing activities and to develop new ones.
This is entirely consistent with our application for funding to Your Fund Surrey, as their motivation is to help fund spaces and projects that reach new people of all ages in our community. Your Fund Surrey’s timeframe means that we will not get a final decision from them until March 2024 – and one of their requirements is that we cannot start work before then.
Our focus now is to see how we can reduce the project costs to a manageable level and to finalise our application to Your Fund Surrey. The Parochial Church Council agreed with this approach, and that we should continue in our endeavours to complete this exciting project, based on the significant approvals and funding already in place, and on the basis that minimal costs are incurred from now until we achieve full funding. The church leadership remains strongly behind the scheme and the BYC team are encouraged to explore all options to make it happen.
For more information about the project see Building Your Church
BYC – August update
Preparatory work continues apace! Recent weeks have seen considerable activity involving the redesign of the kitchen and toilets, and the necessary cabling for audio visual equipment and Wi-Fi connectivity (initially to temporary units, and subsequently to their final locations), as well as core heating and electrical works.
We are now at an advanced stage with our technical drawings, which form the basis of the cost proposals we will seek from potential main contractors; this is a crucial step, as we will then be able to confirm whether the funds we have raised are sufficient.
The investigation work with our Project Managers unearthed a significant problem with the roofing over the north corridor (which covers the toilets, kitchen, offices and storage rooms). This was not supposed to be part of the project, so finding the best way forward has set us back. We have now engaged a roofing contractor by competitive tender, and work will start during September.
Over the next two to three weeks, we will procure a temporary office, toilets and cabin to help us maintain as many of our church ministries as we can; but there will inevitably be some disruption, and so we ask for everyone’s patience and forbearance in the coming months, along with your ongoing prayers, as work begins for real to deliver improved buildings that bring glory to God.
For more information about the project see Building Your Church
Jasper’s Big BYC Bike Ride – Update
On Saturday 29 July, Jasper successfully completed his 20 mile bike ride for BYC – raising an amazing total of just over £2000, by cycling from Bramley to Rudgwick, and back! Setting off at 10am from the old Bramley and Wonersh Station, using the Downs Link path (an old railway track) and arriving back around 5.30pm – amazingly avoiding all the rain showers! Snack and lunch stops along the way, in Cranleigh and at The Milk Churn near Rudgwick, helped keep us going, as well as taking time to admire the view and watch the wildlife, including deer and a sparrowhawk.
Jasper is so proud to have completed his challenge, and raised such a good amount in support of BYC. Thank you to all who have sponsored and encouraged Jasper in his efforts!
Watch Jasper being interviewed and congratulated in church.
For more information see: