Introduction

The Kirk Session and Congregational Board are happy to report that the refurbishment of the Church Sanctuary is proceeding to programme and photographs of the work are available in the New Hall and on the Church web-site (www.balernochurch.com). This article is about further developments. First, let me remind you of the fact that at our special Congregational meeting on Sunday 20^th November 2005 a motion was passed as follows:

Motion 3

The congregation rescinds its decision of 31 October 2004 and resolves to proceed with immediate effect

a) with the re-ordering of the Sanctuary as originally agreed (except for the creation of the new door in the side wall of the Church); and

b) the congregation instructs the Office-Bearers and the Buildings and Identity Committee to give further thought to future development (bearing in mind, but not limited to, previous plans), and authorises continued fund raising.

This directive from the congregation followed the restriction on our development programme due to the higher than expected tenders of the original proposals to build a replacement for the old hall at the rear of the Church and construct a new kitchen, toilets and a link to the other buildings on our site. Within the last few weeks, it was intimated that St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church is expected to close down shortly, probably soon after we return to our own building. Our congregation has been worshipping in St Joseph’s Church and has now been given first refusal to purchase the building. The Buildings and Identity Committee have discussed this proposal at some length and decided that, before we could commit ourselves one way or the other, we would need to have the building surveyed by a firm of professional surveyors to ascertain the condition of the building and establish the costs of basic repairs to make the building suitable for our purposes.

Information

A detailed condition survey has been carried out by a professional surveyor and the report has shown that the property, while some works are required, is in reasonable repair. We could, therefore, utilise the building for some of our own activities almost immediately.
The building will provide a hall space (14m x 10m – significantly bigger than the Old Hall or anything planned previously) and possible office space by converting the vestry (4m x 4m). Any necessary refurbishment to utilise the building immediately could be carried out at modest cost.
The asking price for purchasing the building will be confirmed to us in writing soon. It has been indicated to us informally and will be made known at the special meeting. Our professional advisers have confirmed that it is a reasonable price and gives us value for money.
The costs identified in the condition survey to make the building wind and watertight and to make the building suitable for almost immediate use amount to, at the most, £36,800, excluding VAT and professional fees.

The space afforded by the acquisition of St Joseph’s would be available immediately for use by Church Organisations and the Community as a ‘stand alone’ building or, by using the path between St Joseph’s and the Bank, in conjunction with the Church Hall. Looking at our own church vision (Balerno 2005), we believe that the acquisition of St Josephs, would fit in well with our aspirations, with most, if not all, the concepts of that vision transferable to a new project that includes St Joseph’s.

Finance

We must decide how we would pay for such a proposal. To fund the purchase of St Joseph’s we would require to take up a loan of around £100,000 from the Church of Scotland (up to £275,000 already agreed) and this would require to be paid back within five years including interest.

Total Income to date (Including grants and tax) £360,500

Estimated income to end 2009 £165,000

£525,500

Total expenditure to date £54,000

Phase 1 expenditure (Refurbishment of Sanctuary) £250,000

Assuming no change to the anticipated income and no additional fund raising then we expect to have money available to spend on St Joseph’s. Fuller details will be given at the meeting in order to keep the purchase price confidential.

The Kirk Session considers that while further work requires to be done in relation to the funding arrangements, the project for bringing into use St Joseph’s is viable.

Conclusion.

The Kirk Session believes that this is a way forward for our church that could bring into being the vision we have for the Church’s place in Balerno expressed in Balerno 2005. Our Congregation has a unique opportunity to acquire an appropriate replacement for the Old Hall sited on the front street of Balerno, having a common boundary with our property on two sides and, therefore, with the potential to develop and/or integrate it. It will provide an opportunity to bring the community into the Church and the Church into the Community. The proposal will also provide a ready built replacement to the old hall larger than anything we could build on our present site. It could provide an office for the secretary in the old vestry to St Joseph’s, and would be in a better situation to serve the community ie, on the main street. Even with the remedial work required, the cost would still bear comparison with a stand alone replacement for the Old Hall on the same site.

The possible problems of not purchasing St Joseph’s must also be taken into account. We could not provide such a large replacement space within our present boundaries and we could encounter difficulties with neighbours since the sites are so close together. If we turned down this opportunity we would still have to resolve our differences about where and what to build.

In the light of this report the B&I Committee seek the congregation’s approval to the following proposals:

The Congregation of Balerno Parish Church give authority to the Buildings and Identity Committee (or any replacement group appointed by the Kirk Session and Congregational Board), on behalf of the Congregation, a) to negotiate the acquisition of St Joseph’s within financial constraints agreeable to local parties and to the General Trustees, b) to obtain such permissions as are necessary; c) to proceed with such basic works as are necessary to make it available for use.

If these proposals are accepted, as a congregation we are seeking to retain St Joseph’s for the benefit of the wider community as well as ourselves, and we shall be using the previous authorisation for continued fundraising to pursue possibilities of outside finance from the community and trusts.

Finally, the B&I Committee will give thought, over the next twelve months or so, to possible future developments which may be beneficial in achieving our community objectives and will report to a future congregational meeting. There should be no need for additional costs to be incurred during this time.

Ian Alexander,

On behalf of the B&I Committee and Kirk Session.