Roofing and Heating for the Future
St Nicholas Parish Church Dunnington - Renew, Restore, Rejuvenate, Keeping dry and warm
Re-Roofing the Tower Room has been completed!
The contractors have now started on the re-roofing the Tower Room with the work expected to be completed in time for Christmas. New felt, slates, skylights and insulation are being put in. Completion will be a real champagne moment, ensuring that we keep dry well into the future.
During the building work the Church and Tower Room will be open. However, we suggest minimising the use of the Tower Room during the working day Monday – Friday, as it may be quite noisy. If visiting the church, please be careful.
Thank you so much for all the generous donations and fund-raising events which have made this work possible. Over £100k has been raised for our Big Build campaign started 3 years ago. This is a tremendous achievement. A number of organisations have helped us in funding the project, sharing our vision for the work of the Church in serving the community. These have included the John Priestman Trust, Allchurches Trust, Persimmon Homes, Aviva Community Fund, York Council Derwent, and Osbaldwick Ward Grant. This also includes an interest free loan of £19,500 from the York Diocese. The Benefact Trust (previously Allchurches) made an additional contribution to help pay for improved Roof alarm sensors to help ensure the security of the roof during the build and beyond.
As you appreciate, this has been a massive project for the Church, requiring a significant amount of work behind the scenes. We are indebted to the small group which has taken this forward.
Most of the funds raised are being used in the re-roofing project which has been our priority. The costs are much higher than originally anticipated with the significant increase in building costs. Given the problems with the previous slates, we have gone for good quality Welsh slates, which will last and be in keeping with what is required for an historic listed building central to the village.
Increased thinking is being given to the heating system we require in the church – to achieve the warm part of our objective. While the existing gas system still works, it is very old, inefficient, costly to run and not very environmentally friendly. Our heating group is considering the options open to us. This is not straightforward as the newer systems using renewable energy are expensive to install and run. It is important to check they are suitable for buildings like our own. However, technology is improving all the time.
While some funds are available, they need to be built up to fund a new heating system. If you can make a financial donation this will be very welcome. Cash or cheques (made payable to Dunnington PCC) can be put through the Rectory letterbox (30 Church Street) or given to your normal church contacts. Please mark the envelope “Fabric donation.” If you can Gift Aid the donation, please collect a Gift Aid form or a Gift Aid envelope form the church and mark it as a fabric donation. Donations can also be made using the contactless donations machine in the
church, online via the People Fundraising (https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/fabric-fund-donations), or by using the QR code below
Thank you for all your help, support, and encouragement with this project. By the village working together on this investment we can ensure our wonderful church is renewed, restored, and rejuvenated to serve our village and future generations.
Peter Helm and Carole White
Churchwardens
“A Christ Like presence with the people of Dunnington“
