In case you were wondering what all the red wiring sticking out of the walls is, an up-to-date “Fire Alarm” system has been installed in the church hall and all adjoining rooms. This has been in response to an electrical survey commissioned earlier this year (as required by the RCB) which pointed out that the old system was inadequate (and did not conform with Health and Safety regulations considering we rent the hall to the public). We also have had to bring the “Emergency Lighting” system up to current standards. This has been an expensive exercise, however now we are in the happy position of being fully up-to-speed with the regulations, which have become more demanding as the years go by.
Our finances have been able to cope with this unexpected electrical expense without too much pain and our loan will still hopefully continue its steady downward path, subject to unforeseen circumstances.
Much of the wiring in the church and the Sexton’s house is quite old and it is our intention to replace much of this over time in order to spread the cost. In addition to the electrical survey, we have also asked an architect to carry out a survey of the church buildings (also required by the RCB), which hopefully will not raise any unknown issues.
