UPDATE! Message from Jonathan Delbridge 05/02/2024:
Some good news to start your Monday morning…
Our Sunday School Room fund has received the maximum grant available from the National Lottery Community Fund of £20,000! This is fantastic news and takes us within a whisker of our £60k target.
Many thanks to our PCC treasurer, Steve Chapman, who has put in many hours of work researching and applying for grants and to all those who have supported the fundraising.
There is still work to do as the water table issues which have caused the rotting floor in the Sunday School Room could be costly, and Church funds have been used to support this urgent work needed on the Sunday School Room, meaning these funds are now depleted and therefore we really value all your ongoing support and need to continue to fundraise.
Sunday School Room Renovation - Update
Dear Lopen Resident,
We wrote to you all at the end of August with regard to the deteriorating wood floor, the need to replace it and a call for raising the necessary funds. We thought you would appreciate an update on the current situation.
Following leaks from the roof, the thatch was inspected and patched. The ridge was in need of replacement; however, this would be very short term and the recommendation is to re-thatch the whole roof. Many of you will have seen the rotting of the thatch on the east side. We are told that the combination of hot summers and wet winters is shortening the life of thatch. The cost of this will be £20,000.
The floor replacement, new servery, two new wood windows, more efficient heating and lighting and the thatch will cost approximately £60,000.
Our treasurer, Steve Chapman, is applying for grant funding to several organisations including the Lottery since this figure is well beyond the resources of the PCC and the community. Several charities are prepared to fund up to £5,000 to village halls since they are such an important asset.
Jonathan Delbridge is also investigating the potential for crowd funding. Your donations and fund raising activities have so far generated £4,000 and the PCC has agreed to increase this figure from reserves to £10,000. Once an additional £10,000 has been raised, the roof will be re-thatched, hopefully this summer, since that is the priority. The floor, etc will have to wait until sufficient funds are available.
Several of you have generously made donations and been involved in fund raising - thank you. However, we need more, a lot more, if we are to reach the target of £60,000. If you wish to make a donation, you can do this by:
A cheque to Lopen PCC to our treasurer at Ballarat House, Frog Street, Lopen or
a bank transfer to Lopen PCC, sort code 60 19 37, account no. 31001319
You may feel you can help with fundraising and we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Jonathan Delbridge 01460 240025 info@jonathandelbridge.com.
Any support you can give to our Sunday School Room is very much appreciated. Lopen Parochial Church Council March 2023
