We are now in dire need of rebuilding the vestry building attached to the rear of the church. The vestry is in a desperate state of repair with the flooring unsafe in places and the whole outer shell well past its sell by date. We would like to demolish and rebuild this annex to the church and add the much needed facilities of a kitchenette area and a toilet enabling more people to visit and use the services we offer.
Due to an unexpected legacy donation, for which we are extremely grateful, we are able to fund the first phase of rebuilding our vestry. This involves developing the plans and obtaining the various permissions we need in order to proceed with the actual construction. Only when we have these permissions in place can we apply for more grants to cover the costs of the rebuild, of which we have a shortfall of approx £138,000. The new vestry has been a vision for Queenborough for well over 30 years. Our original estimate based on plans 12 years ago was for £180,000 yet, now being in the position of having £132,000 in our designated fund, costs have risen and we are looking at an estimate of £250,000+. It was agreed to go ahead with phase one as without the permissions we are not eligible to apply for many grants and without them and all the support we have had, and hope to continue to receive, our visions and hopes for our growing church community will remain unfulfilled. We now have planning permission from Swale Borough Council and are awaiting the further documentation we need from the architect to apply for the other permissions and grants. If anyone would like to help through donations or fundraising ideas please contact the Churchwardens through our Parish Office.
