Dear Friends,
As the Parochial Church Council for St Johns, we promote the Christian message and are legally responsible for the finances of the parish, including the care and maintenance of all church buildings and their contents here at St John’s.
We had a very challenging 2022 and 2023 which resulted in our being put into special measures by our Diocese of Southwark due to the fact we were in dire financial straits. During those 2 years our utilities increased by £2,000 per month and our mortgage payments on the Community Centre rose by over £1,500 per month and we also lost our largest regular hirer.
As a PCC, we recognized that due to Meadvale Hall's age and deteriorating condition, it would no longer be financially feasible to maintain ownership, so in the spring of 2023, we reluctantly made the difficult decision to sell the property. Having made that decision we realized that we would be able to use the capital released to pay off a substantial amount of our Community Centre mortgage in order to help put ourselves back into a long-term stable financial position.
We have been in constant contact to discuss a community buy-out with several interested community groups for more than 18 months, including the 34th Meadvale Scouts as well as current and former council members. We have continued to bear the extra expenses resulting from prolonging our original 12-month consultation window during this period.
Regrettably no community body currently has the funds available to buy the hall. We will therefore be actively marketing the site for sale later this month and will be closing the premises at the earliest opportunity this year to avoid having to shoulder any additional financial costs and to mitigate health and safety concerns.
Our church's roof has sustained significant water damage from last year's storms and the valley gutters leak heavily whenever there is significant rainfall. Whilst we had hoped to be allowed to use a modern, cost effective roof covering in all areas, due to the church's Grade II listed status, permission was denied with the result that we must carry out far more expensive like-for-like lead repairs on both the south and north valleys, necessitating the accumulation of further substantial funds before we can commence the repairs. We are most grateful to Councillor Natalie Bramhall for her generous support and to all the members of our community who have contributed to our roofing appeal which must now continue out of financial necessity. We on the PCC will continue to execute our responsibilities to the best of our abilities as we look to meet the needs of our congregation and the local community, which we are very proud to be an active part of, now and for the years to come.
The Vicar, Churchwardens & PCC of St John’s Church, Redhill
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