From the chair:

A few weeks ago I sent an update, and I’m pleased to report that more progress has been made!

At the last committee meeting (last Thursday, the 4^th ) the committee agreed the details of the application enquiry for the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), and before the evening was done that enquiry was submitted to the NLHF.

So we are now in a holding pattern with both the church authorities and the NLHF. Whilst we cannot know how long things will take, the timeline I indicated last month still holds up:

• September – begin discussions with the school about the projects we can run to help bring the community and the church together
• October – have a full grant application under way with the NLHF (what we’ve done so far is just start a formal enquiry)
• December – (hopefully) grant approval.
• January/ February 2026 – obtain quotes and select contractors
• Sometime around March 2026 or later – start the repairs to the church building.

I’m very pleased we’ve reached this stage; it may seem ages since that opening meeting in January, but we’ve come a long way and have now achieved some substantial results.

Peter