Project  2030 is being developed in phases. The first phases have been completed and include new LED lighting and painting the lower levels of the Chancel.

The next significant phase is the change to electrical heating. This will enable the removal of the radiators and low-level piping. The piping in the nave is a trip hazard, the main system has unidentified leaks, and the boilers are coming to the end of their life. The change will contribute to the central Church of England’s target to become carbon neutral by 2030. Removal of the pipework will also enable us to improve access at a later stage by introducing a level floor throughout the nave.

The selected strategy is to ‘heat people’ not the space. This form of heating is produced by infrared heat sources. Because of their almost immediate effect when switched on they save on energy use overall.

The main implication visually will be a change to chandeliers in the Nave which will be replaced by combined heating and lighting chandeliers hung slightly higher than the existing ones. We have seen these in action in a church in Suffolk and below is a picture of what these look like.

In the chancel, we will have under pew heaters for the choir, and a mixture of different designs of infrared panels in other areas by.

Permissions

We have been in dialogue with the Diocese about these proposals and have their support . The Faculty process is in train with Public Notices in the Church and we are anticipating formal approval in March.

Costs/Funding

We have developed a budget for this work in dialogue with contractors (and selected preferred partners). The budget including contingencies and VAT is £127,000. We are seeking further contractors/volunteers to help with builders work that may be required to complete the finishes and decoration after the removal of the existing pipes, radiators etc.

We have been put forward by the Diocese (as the only church from Rochester diocese) for partial funding from a national fund in support of Net Zero Carbon projects called the Demonstrator Fund. This along with a sister fund (The Benefact Trust) will provide 37.9% of the required funding. We have also selected two further funding bodies, who we believe will support the scheme if we obtain the national grant. These are The Missional Property Fund who we have had a good relationship with previously, and Garfield Weston Foundation. If we are successful with these, we will have between 80-90% of the cost covered along with the funds we have raised to date.

We need a big push to raise a target of a further £10,000 by early June. If we can achieve all of this we will implement the scheme in September this year.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Richard or Martin at the church.

Richard Hopkinson PCC Secretary and Martin Massy PCC Treasurer.