This is a hugely busy period and a big ‘thank you’ is owed to Church Centre Manager Maureen Vincent for masterminding all the works.

The extent of the work now underway reflects both everyday wear and tear in the Centre (over two decades!) and especially the surge in use of the Church Centre in recent months. We are also making good progress with the works recommended in the five yearly survey of the entire property (known as the Quinquennial) made in 2020.

Painting of walls is ongoing through much of the Centre. The Church Office (hired out most weekdays) was the first to receive a much-needed new coat.

The lights on the high chandeliers in St. Aidan’s Hall have been replaced and we’re hoping to do the same with the high wall spot lamps in the church, most of which are defunct. All with LED so we should never need to replace again! The LEDs on the high beams in the church have been very successful and none have so far needed replacement.

The Banbury Chapel door and other doors and windows have had new insulation.

Scaffolding to the front of the Church Centre enabled varnishing and staining of woodwork on all floors to stop water penetration.

Major cutback to overgrown plants in the grounds, to improve appearance and security. More to be done on this front (see Eco Church report).

Ongoing inspections and repairs to flat roofs and replacement of broken tiles. Checks to gutters etc

Next up: fixing uneven paving around the fire exits.

Further ahead: there will be plenty of recommendations coming from the Eco survey of the site, with work on this being led by Peter Skerratt and John Jackson. We will also look at repairs to the church’s small wooden tower and conduct an accessibility survey for the whole site.

All of the above will contribute to the mission of the church and its service to the wider community through the activities we host, and those we run directly, in church and centre.

Peter Knowles (Church Management Committee)