Present: A. Dicks, A. Moore, C. Ronan, K. Dalton-Aram, M. Hansell, M. Down,
Welcome & Apologies: S. Stride, J. Tollafield
The Chair welcomed everyone to the Committee meeting and thanked them for attending at short notice.
April explained that the meeting had been called specifically to discuss the repairs that were urgently needed to be undertaken on the belcote spire above the hall roof. A few weeks previously a cherry picker had been hired to assist with repairs to roof tiles. The builder carrying out the repairs took advantage of his position in the cherry picker and photographed the spire and weather vane whilst in close proximity. These photos had previously been circulated to the committee.
Mr Tim Bucknall, of The Bucknall Partnership, a company specialising in the repair of old buildings, was asked to do a site visit and provide an estimate. He attended the location on 4th November and was supplied with the photographs taken from the cherry picker, to assist his determination of the extent of the repairs needed. He subsequently supplied a detailed estimate for the work which had also been previously circulated. This amounted to £7,030.00 plus VAT but this also included the cost of scaffolding to enable access to the entire spire.
Mary had asked for an estimate from another company, O’Briens, lead work specialists in Bridport, but no response had been received to an email, other than an acknowledgement of receipt of the enquiry.
A discussion ensued as to the need to obtain a further estimate. April explained that The Bucknall Partnership have been used for repairs to Combpyne church and had come highly recommended by the Church Warden. Mary said that she thought Mr Bucknell had a passion for old buildings and a good knowledge of their construction and fabric. It was noted that once repairs commenced, further work may come to light. April said that a new lightning conductor would certainly be needed as the current one was located on the side of the roof and did not go to the top.
Kate asked how funds currently stood: April said there was circa £40k in the bank. If repairs were to cost 50% more than the estimate, around £12k, this would still mean there was a significant sum in the bank.
April said that much of the work on the general repairs list had been completed by Mr Young including roof repairs, making good the path at the rear emergency exit, new heating had been installed and in a couple of weeks a new storage cupboard will be created. Racking had also been constructed and was now in the garage. With regard to heating costs, April provided a basic cost comparison between October 2021 and October 2022: in 2021 hire receipts were £550 and electricity costs were £250. In 2022 hire receipts were £950 and electricity costs were £150. So this year there has been a higher usage of the hall but heating costs have been lower. October last year may have been colder than this year but it was agreed that this was a useful indication of the cost of running the new system.
Kate then proposed that a vote be taken to instruct the Bucknall Partnership to undertake the spire repairs. The meeting was unanimous, and April agreed to contact Mr Bucknall.
The date of the next Committee Meeting was set for 9th January 2023 at 7pm.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 7.28pm.