Restoration Fund- Mill Hill - Paul's Church Mill Hill, founded by William Wilberforce.


St Paul's Church Restoration Update Our Restoration Fund is now….. £1.2 million
	This is fantastic. We are well on the way to funding the whole project - just £700,000 to go. With your help and the continued efforts of the fundraising team we can achieve it. Please continue to support the campaign. Together we can realise our vision. Four years ago when the Restoration and Development project was conceived you might have been forgiven for thinking it might never happen or at the very least we might have been able to muster the funds to carry out some minor repairs to the building. But look at us now …. here we are in 2005 with a fund totalling £1.2 million and a project which is forging ahead. Phase I, the restoration of the church is well underway with completion scheduled for January 2006. Phase II, the crypt conversion is now under the spotlight as we consider plans, tenders and funding. It is an amazing time for St Paul’s Church and a time for real celebration of what can be achieved by the congregation, our team of professionals, and Jonathan who continues to dedicate such time and energy to the project. Help us to keep the momentum going – PLEASE pledge your support today. Project News Phase I Restoration Phase one is going well. In terms of the original specification the contractors, PAYE, are working to schedule with the render now off, some 3,000 bricks replaced and the base layer of new render on . The roof has been insulated, re-tiled and access hatches for maintenance of the roof installed. As the project has unfolded we have identified some additional work to be carried out on the east and west windows, the hood moulds over the windows and the chancel arch Some of this work is essential, particularly relating to the east window and chancel arch. Other work is not absolutely necessary at this stage but would become an issue in 10 – 15 years. The Restoration Committee felt it was important to do the job well now so we have committed a further £200,000 to phase I to complete the work. Phase II The Crypt Development The fund total following phase I will stand at £600,000. The total project cost for this phase is in the region of £1. 2 million What this means is that we have had to consider our options. There were three under consideration: 1.To stop after phase I and wait until we have the necessary funds to start phase II. 2. To look at what we can achieve with the existing funds and amend the plan accordingly. 3. To continue with the full plan but progress cautiously. We have decided to move forward with option 3 and consider how we might schedule the work in the second phase in accordance with funding. Critically we are awaiting the results of grant applications to the National Lottery ( who are visiting the site in September), Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation, Onyx Environmental Trust, All Churches Trust, Historical Churches Preservation Trust and Heritage of London Trust. Recently we were awarded £25,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation so we are looking positively to others recognising the work we are undertaking here at St Paul's. In these applications we have the potential to raise a further £300,00+ which would make an enormous difference to our project. We are currently awaiting possible scenarios from the Architects and Quantity Surveyors as to how we might proceed. Hopefully will be able to update you very soon. Watch this space!