We entered 2023 in dire financial straits and as a result were put in special measures by our Diocese of Southwark. As a PCC we sought advice and as a direct result strengthened our marketing activities and refreshed our website to drive hiring interest while at the same time, reached out to our congregation to increase our giving. Our Diocese also kindly allowed us to reduce our 2023 parish pledge (a sum every parish pays towards the costs of the central institutions of the Church of England) to allow us to continue to serve our community. We reduced our caretaker hours and tried to be as efficient as possible with other running costs.

By summer 2023, our Community Centre mortgage payments had continued to rise by an extra £1,100 per month along with our utilities costs. At the same time, St John’s nursery made the decision to consolidate to one location and so in July we sadly lost our largest regular hirer.
 

To prioritise the finances of the parish, as a PCC we had to make the difficult decision last summer that we would need to sell Meadvale Hall in order to pay off a significant portion of our Community Centre mortgage and thus return us to a stable long-term financial position.