Programme Status

21 April 2008 – Parish AGM – Final Report

Overview

The programme has achieved a £147k refurbishment of Porch House at a cost of only £28k to the parish.

This compares extremely favourably with the plan approved by the parish in 2006 when it was expected that the cost to the parish for the Hall and House alone would be in the region of £30k-£40k.

However, as a result of the success of our fundraising we have been able to undertake the complete programme including the North Wing while remaining within the funding parameters set for the first phase.

In summary, we have achieved much more and at lower cost to the parish than originally envisaged.

Programme Scope

The scope of the programme involved virtually the complete refurbishment of Porch House and included (but was not restricted to):

The scope of the programme did not include the floor in the Hall nor the roof. These may require attention at some point.

Programme Timescale

Practical completion of the programme was achieved on 21 December 2007.

This was considerably later than planned primarily due to substantial and – we would maintain – unwarranted delays in the council planning approval process.

The timescales were further impacted by contractor performance and additional works for restoration of ceilings, plasterwork and levelling of floor in North Wing.

A first round of snagging work was undertaken by the contractor in March and some minor items remain to be addressed.  A final round of snagging work will take place at the end of the contract defect period which will be 20 December 2008.

Programme Cost

The forecast cost of the programme is £147k comprising:

The current forecast is £11k higher than the estimate presented to the AGM in 2007 due to the need for more extensive restoration of ceilings and plasterwork using traditional methods and contract extension costs.

The cost forecast remains subject to negotiation and agreement of the final accounts with the contractor and therefore it is possible that the final costs may differ slightly from the forecast.

Expenditure to date on the project is £126k. The balance of the cost represents retentions payable at the end of the defects period and allowances for final accounts.

Funding

The total of grants awarded to the programme was £107k. Of the amount awarded we have so far received £98k.

In addition to the grants awarded, a contribution of £10k was received from SDS funds.

Volunteer Effort

Part of the Heritage Lottery Fund grant is dependent upon the level of volunteer effort contributed by the programme team.

Since the HLF grant was awarded in August 2005, time donated by the team has exceeded 90 days with at least as much effort again having been required in the stages leading up to the HLF and other grant awards.

Impact on Porch House Users

Although a programme of this scale could not be undertaken without some disruption to normal activities and, due to the extended timescales, the extent of that disruption – particularly for Social Club members – was greater than had been hoped.

The patience of all users while the refurbishment was taking place is appreciated and, hopefully, the long-term benefits for users will outweigh the short-term inconvenience.  

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2 December 2007 – Update

We expect that the contractor will complete and handover the North Wing and Hall on 7 December and Porch House (including the new kitchen) on 14 December.

The work has been inspected by the conservation officer who has indicated that it is “a credit to all concerned”.

We are also pleased to announce that the project has been awarded a further grant of £5k bring the total level of grants awarded to £107k.

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5 August 2007 – Update

Supplementary information for parishioners (not included in the press release)

• The contractors will commence on site activities on 28 August.

• The target date for full completion of the work of mid-November has been agreed with the contractor.

• The contractor will endeavour to make the Hall and North Wing available for use by 26 October.

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1 August 2007 – Press Release

Further funding success means complete makeover for Porch House, Thornbury.

The fundraising campaign on behalf of Porch House, Thornbury has now succeeded in raising grants totalling more than £100,000 from major funding partners – the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ibstock Cory Environmental Trust, Biffaward and a charitable foundation.

Ray Pioli, spokesman for the project, said, “The success of our fund raising has exceeded our expectations and we thank all our partners for their support. As a result, we can extend the scope of the project to encompass the complete refurbishment of Porch House. In addition to the essential conservation work to the house and hall, we will now be providing new disabled facilities and access, improved catering facilities, new toilets and many other enhancements.”

Porch House is one of the oldest and the most interesting medieval buildings in Thornbury. It is used by many local community groups of all ages and interests and is the venue for popular amateur dramatics and other events.

Commenting on their award, Angela Haymonds, Secretary of Ibstock Cory Environmental Trust said, “We are delighted to fund this worthwhile project and assist the Porch House refurbishment by providing disabled facilities in order to meet new disability and safety requirements and benefit the community.”

Martin Bettington, Chairman of Biffaward, explained, “Porch House is an excellent example of the type of community project we are here to support. Our grant will fund the new kitchen, new toilets and other enhancements.”

When the work commences in August, Porch House will close for the summer period and re-open in the autumn for regular community use. The first major events to be hosted in the refurbished complex will be the popular Beer Festival in November and the Octopus pantomime “Treasure Island” in January. The official re-opening will be marked later next year with “Spirits of the Past” – an entertaining journey through time charting the history of Porch House providing the opportunity to meet the residents, share in their lives and the times and revel in the music of their age.

The origins of Porch House date back to at least the fifteenth century, though it has been altered and extended over the years. It has had a varied history – reputedly being attacked during the Civil War, and serving variously as farm house, private home, butcher's shop, accountant's office, tailor's shop, home of the town football team, church and priest's house.

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22 July 2007 – Update

Obtaining the necessary planning permission and listed building consent for the forthcoming renovation work on Porch House has proved to be very difficult and rather lengthy, however, we now have the planning permission.

Grant details have been finalised and the main contractor appointed.

The work will begin in the next few weeks and proceed during the summer months and we hope that it will be finished by the end of October. However we will try and get some parts of the building open as early as we can.

Please be aware that during the renovation there will be no access to Porch House, the Parish Hall or the Social Club.

Thank you for your forbearance during these very necessary renovations.

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23 April 2007 – Parish AGM – Status Update

Overview

As presented at the last Parish AGM, our strategy for the Porch House programme has been:

• First priority – the conservation and refurbishment of the house (the South Wing) and the Hall.

• Second priority – inclusion of entrance and “flat” (the North Wing) work if further funding could be secured.

Since the last AGM, to implement this strategy we have:

• Secured four major grants totalling over £100k for the South Wing, Hall and North Wing.

• Completed the detailed designs and plans for the refurbishment.

• Obtained tenders for and appointed a Project Manager

• Obtained tenders for main contractor.

• Applied for planning consent (twice).

• Undertaken extensive communications and liaison.

• Implemented Access and Learning Plans.

Project Outlook

It had been our hope that the programme of work would be completed by the end of August based upon our expectation that we would have received Listed Building Consent in March.

In the event, English Heritage and the Conservation Officer raised objections to our plans to remove the rear staircase from the flat and it was necessary to withdraw our application or have it rejected.

Following meetings with these parties, our application has been resubmitted and we have been informally advised that one party has withdrawn his objection. We cannot yet be certain that the other will do likewise but we now hope to have the planning consent by mid-June.

The delay to our planning application has inevitably impacted our project timescale. If we do obtain the consent by mid-June then our new target for completion of the refurbishment will be the end of September. However this is a very tight timescale and there are a number of critical dependencies that might yet delay the project further. These include but are not limited to:

• Possibility of expiry on main contract tenders which are valid for 12 weeks.

• Timescales to obtain formal approval from grant bodies to proceed.

• Short period of notice for mobilisation of main contract.

Cost and Funding

The forecast cost for the programme now stands at £136k, £8k higher the estimate provided at the last AGM and £10k higher than the estimate reported to parishioners in February.

Some further increase may arise because of the delays to the programme and quotations to be obtained for certain sub-contracts.

However, the success of our fundraising does mean that funding from the parish should remain within the originally expected parameters.

It should be noted that we are unlikely to be able to claim the full amount as the grants relate to separate activities and will depend upon the final cost of each of these activities and the limits on each grant. The total grant we currently expect to receive is £90k out of the total of £100k awarded.

Key Milestone

The next key milestone for the programme will be mid-May when we should know if any objections to our application have been lodged.

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4 February 2007 – Status Update

We have now been awarded a further grant of £15k from Ibstock Cory Environment Trust specifically to fund the provision of disability access and facilities and improved access to the “flat” area to meet current safety requirements.

This brings the total of grants awarded to £75k.

Applications for statutory consents have been submitted and we expect to receive the consents by mid-March. Invitations to tender are being prepared and will be issued by mid-February.

The programme of work is expected to have a fourteen week duration and our target date for commencement is the 30 April. Inevitably, there will be considerable disruption to use of the hall during this period.

Further details will be provided in a more comprehensive update in the near future together with an opportunity to see the plans. In the meantime, if you have any question please do not hesitate contact any member of the finance committee.

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20 August 2006 – Status Update

As you know, we have been seeking grants to assist us with the cost of the essential conservation and renovation work required in Porch House. After many months of hard work by the team, we are pleased to be able to tell you that on Friday the Heritage Lottery Fund announced that we have been awarded a grant of £49,900.

The award of this grant is a major achievement and we would like to thank everyone who has helped make it possible. However, this is only the start. We should not underestimate the task that remains and your further assistance will be required to ensure the successful completion of the project.

Copies of the joint press release are available at the back of the church together with copies of the leaflet on Porch House which formed part of our application.

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18 August 2006 – Press Release

Heritage Lottery Fund supports preservation of Porch house, Thornbury.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) today announced the award of a grant of £49,900 for essential conservation and renovation work at Porch House, one of the oldest and the most interesting medieval buildings in Thornbury.

The origins of Porch House date back to at least the fifteenth century, though it has been altered and extended over the years. It has had a varied history – reputedly being attacked during the Civil War, and serving variously as farm house, private home, butcher’s shop, accountant’s office, tailor’s shop, home of the town football team, church and priest’s house. Porch House, which belongs to the Catholic Community in Thornbury, is used by many local community groups of all ages and interests and is the venue for popular amateur dramatics and other events.

Commenting on the award, Ray Pioli, spokesman for the project said, “We are delighted to receive the Heritage Lottery Fund award which will enable us to preserve this valuable architectural and cultural asset for future generations and to increase awareness and appreciation of our local heritage.”

Explaining the importance of the award, HLF regional manager Nerys Watts said ” ‘We are very pleased to be able to fund this restoration work. The Porch House is a focal point for the community and is obviously of great importance to the town. The project will not only secure the building for future generations but it will let the town appreciate and get involved in local history”

Porch House will be open to the general public between 10:00 -12:00 and 14:00 -16:00 on Saturday 9th September as part of Heritage Open Day.

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24 April 2006 – Parish AGM – Resolutions

Having received the status update and following further discussion, it was resolved that:

  1. The following decisions are approved:
    (a) The focus of the initial project will be Porch House and the Hall and
    (b) Work on the North Wing will be deferred until funding has been identified
  2. Subject to the approval of HLF grant, the £20K – earmarked at the last AGM for the Programme is reconfirmed and is to be carried forward until required for the programme.
  3. Subject to the approval of HLF grant, the balance of the Porch House and Hall sub-project – expected to be in the range £10k-£20k – will be financed through a combination of further fund raising and Diocesan loan if necessary.

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24 April 2006 – Parish AGM – Status Update

Overview

The refurbishment Porch House was discussed at the last AGM and approval in principle was given to the programme and to the allocation of £20k from existing funds, subject to suitable grant financing being awarded.

Since that time the Finance Committee has prepared programme documentation and applications – Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and South Gloucestershire Environmental Board (sgeb) – for grants totalling £100k.

A number of status updates has been provided in the weekly bulletins. The last, setting out the position at the end of January, indicated that the response from HLF was highly encouraging.

HLF Application - £50k

The current status of our HLF application remains highly encouraging and at the request of HLF we have temporarily placed our application on hold while we provide further information. In particular, the HLF wanted us to demonstrate that we were actively progressing our plans to increase opportunities for learning and accessing the heritage that Porch House represents.

To enable us to respond positively to these points:

These actions should satisfy the immediate HLF queries and enable us to reactivate our applications with the hope of a reasonably speedy and favourable decision.

Sgeb Application - £50k

Sgeb has indicated that, while it considered our application to be a good one, its funding level was not adequate to support a grant of the size that we were seeking although this had previously been discussed with them.

Sgeb has, however, offered to broker our application through other bodies with whom they have a relationship although the indications are that the maximum grant that might be available would be about £20k

This outcome was not entirely unexpected and the probability that sgeb will be successful in obtaining any grant on our behalf is not considered high.

Revised Strategy

In planning the programme, the prospect of being able to successfully and simultaneously deliver three grant applications has always been considered to be a significant jeopardy.

For this reason the programme was structured as three separate modules which need not be undertaken together in the event that not all of our grant applications were successful.

The modules are:

In view of the facts that the North Wing work does not qualify for HLF funding and it is Porch House and the Hall where the need is most urgent, it has been decided that our primary focus should be the HLF grant and the Porch House and Hall sub-project.

Grant funding for North Wing work will then be sought separately and the work scheduled when funding is available.

Next Steps

The next steps are therefore:

Risk and Assistance Request

There have been a number of previous requests for two volunteers to help with this programme to undertake the roles of Learning Officer and Communications Officer but there has, as yet, been no positive response.

Of these two roles the Learning Officer Role is the most immediately critical as it is central to the Learning Plan upon which our HLF application depends. The role will involve co-operating with schools to develop Porch House as a learning resource hopefully based on the Resources that we have already developed.

This activity would ideally suit someone with teaching or teaching assistance experience and is more concerned with co-operating with schools during the initial setting up of the Learning Resources rather than being a long term on-going commitment.

This role will be vital to securing the HLF grant of £50k. Are you able to help?

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28 January 2006 – Status Update – Can you help?

In November we submitted two grant applications totalling £100k. The initial response from the Heritage Lottery Fund is highly encouraging but, for our application to be successful, we must now demonstrate progress on increasing learning and access opportunities. We therefore need the assistance of two individuals who can join the project team as Learning Officer and Communications Officer.

The primary role of the Learning Officer will be to liaise with local schools to determine how Porch House could be used as a resource for learning about our heritage. The primary role of the Communications Officer will be to liaise with the media and other bodies to open up our heritage to the widest possible audience.

If you would like to help or wish to explore further please contact Ray Pioli on 0117 3706403.

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