Torteval may need £300k loan to save church tower
TORTEVAL might have to take out a £300,000 loan in a bid to pay for half a million pounds-worth of work which is desperately needed to repair the church's leaking and crumbling tower and spire.
A leaflet explaining the choices is being sent out to more than 500 parish electors and ratepayers, detailing how steel supports have rusted through, lintels are crumbling and steps are falling out of the walls. Around £2,000-worth of scaffolding is currently holding up the inside of the tower and spire.
The problems were caused by years of water ingress, but the seriousness of the issue was not realised until a full structural report was produced in 2015. The letter sent to parishioners said that while the attractive option might be to do nothing or allow the structure to fall down, the building was 200 years old and protected, which means the planners can intervene if urgent work is required.
Repointing the building would stop the water ingress, but would not deal with the structural issues. Rebuilding all of the tower and spire would cost more than £1m. and take over two years.
The Church Repairs Committee is recommending that the existing structure is repaired. This would involve injecting lime grout into the walls, which would stop moisture penetrating and re-bond the stonework. The tower and steeple would then be repointed with breathable lime mortars. The work would cost £567,786.
Committee member Andrew Sauvarin said this was the best 'in-between' option.
The parish has around £110,000 in the rectory account, £107,000 in the parish reserve account and £20,786 in the constables' general account. There is also about £30,000 that comes in from donations and events. But that leaves a shortfall of £300,000.
