update

August 2010

 

redevelopment: Bulk of work is now done on the School rooms ! They look great.  In early July, Women of St James the Less devoted time at their Prayer Breakfast to specialist cleaning of the Victorian tiles as an act of service. See photos on facebook! Many thanks to all who've already put in hard graft to transform the once dark spaces into a beautiful light room with an amazing wooden floor. The teenagers now use the space on a Sunday. Other community groups, including a job-scheme, are renting the room too. Feel free to go and have a look if you have a chance.

 

Next step is transforming the Parish Centre's old office/Victorian infants' classroom into a community space once more. We've nearly finished the design stage and need finance to make it happen. Can you help?

 

Initial consent from the Church of England's DAC, Westminster Council and English Heritage has been given, subject to conditions. The Project Team and our architects now have plans in response to these final few points. Plans were taken to the Parish Church Council for their 5th July meeting. We will also present them to our new Vicar, The Reverend Lis Goddard once she is in post. You can look at the plans as pdfs below by clicking on each link, or see the display inside the church entrance.

 

The Access Audit has now been done. This shows us how to make the building more accessible to people with disabilities. Recommendations are fed into the final designs for the Parish Centre. Thanks to the City Bridge Trust for funding this work.

Thank you for praying for the - Monday 5th July PCC meeting.


If you have any questions ask the Project Manager - esther.broughton@sjtl.org or phone the Parish office 0207 630 6282

 

Centre - ground floor plan (this file is over 3Mb - so be patient waiting for it to open!)

Centre - first floor plan

Centre - second floor plan

 

Cross section guide plan

Section A-A Section C-C Section E-E Section F-F

 

further drawings:

Front elevation - North East

Side elevation - North West

 

Rear elevation - South West

 

Please pray for all stages of the process. £86,000 is now needed in finance to progress stage 2. The DAC Plans Group have given us encouraging feedback as well as outlining further steps for us to undertake before we can be granted a Faculty for this part of the work. Let's pray that God will show us how to be generous and diligent in response to this work.

 

restoration cleaning test strip :

The Diocesan Chancellor granted a Faculty Petition for the test last summer, following submission to the DAC in February 2009. Soon after, specialist contractors Hare & Humphreys (H&H) had scaffolding put up inside the North Aisle of the Church and work began. Expert tradesmen and women cleaned a test area of the painted plaster, timber, brick, stone, wall tiles and floor tiles. The brick and stone responded well to cleaning, but the plaster may well need to be repainted.  H&H have produced a full 19 page illustrated report (phone to see a copy or look at the one in the Church).


what happens now?
Pause to pray. Take some time to seek God, praying for every step of the Renewal of our church and community.
fundraising
Praise God for over £85,000 contributed and raised by congregation members and Charitable trusts so far. Thank you!  Thanks to Alex and Nicole who ran for the Renewal Appeal last year. And those giving their skills. Could you do something this year?  Sancia is raising money by cleaning and kitchen portering for a friend, Peter did some admin for a roofer!
To donate online through our partners http://www.justgiving.com/sjtl or click here.
service updates
At regular intervals we remind the church body of the vision, plans and latest news in the process. If you missed hearing about what's going on, just ask.
    The Project Manager, Esther Broughton, welcomes any questions you might have.

    Renewal Fundraising Team welcome any ideas, suggestions or financial gifts for the work.

    Speak to Peter at the 9.30 or 6pm, Alexandra, Carrie or Veronica at the 11am, Ray or Vani at the 6pm service

    e-mail carrie.harvey@sjtl.org or phone Monday - Friday 9-5: 0207 630 6282 and leave a message.

    BPC: Ask Esther, Carrie, Martin, Julia, Olly Debs or Rachel your questions.

    timing
    Our 150th Anniversary is in 2011. We believe that through hard work and sustained application we can achieve considerable progress in time for next year.  But we do need financial support to make it happen.

    your next step
    You can make a vital difference, bringing renewal through restoring and redeveloping St James the Less. It may be through offering your own skills or insights.  It may be through telling others and building our fund-raising network among friends. It may be through concerted prayer.  It may be through generous giving, or as a key donor. Please think seriously about this; for this transformation to happen, we will need everyone to play some part.  If you have further questions which are not answered in the F.A.Q section, ask for more info.

     

     

    Milestones passed to date

    2010

    April: Westminster Council Planning Permission received.

    March: Renewal Fundraising Team starts working

    January - DAC site visit to St James the Less with Esther (Project Manager) and Martin (Architect)

    2009

    December - Access Audit (funded by City Bridge Trust)

    November - Site visit with Westminster Planning, English Heritage, DAC, Project Manager and Architects

    October - School Rooms refurbishment begins

    September - Conservator's report on cleaning test strip received.

    August - Restoration cleaning test strip complete

    June - Outline Plans submitted to Westminster Council and DAC for development work

    May - Faculty Petition submitted to Diocesan Chancellor

    March - DAC approve application for Petition for Faculty to Clean and Repair a test strip of the interior of the Church

    Public Notice 28 Day display begins for test strip

    February - DAC consider application for Cleaning a test strip of Church

    January -  Lead Architects Finch Forman and Dr James Campbell appointed to Restoration work

    Visitors and tourists complete questionnaires

     

    2008

    Congregation support project with gifts, prayer and questions

    Local residents consulted in questionnaire

    Brief revisited and redefined

    Esther Broughton appointed as part time Project Manager

    Carrie Harvey appointed as part time Fundraiser

    Jerusalem Trust make grant to cover cost of Project Management

     

    2007 Melanie Hall appointed as Project Manager (Feb 07- Feb 08)

Option six - the Parish Church Council (PCC) approved the scheme this year, 2009, subject to detailed costings and plans.  Replacing the elaborate new build plans of Option 1- 5 , we now plan to develop the community rooms in a way that is much more feasible, particularly given the current financial climate. Each chunk of work can be completed separately. In the next 2 years we will focus on development of the existing site, carrying out vital repairs and restoring the church interior.

To download a pdf file of the "vision-brief-need-feasibility" pages click here.
To donate click here.