Renovate and Decarbonise St Oswald’s Church Hall, Coney Hill, Glos

This is a project to refit the toilets, fit an air-to-air heating system, and install a suspended ceiling with insulation and LED lighting at St Oswald’s Hall in Gloucester.

The whole project is to renovate and decarbonise St Oswald’s Hall to create a sustainable, affordable and welcoming space, that strengthens community connections, combats isolation and builds a resilient future for Coney Hill.

The hall is well used and deserving of a lot of TLC to bring it up to modern day standards that the community (high deprivation index) deserves. Coney Hill has an IMD score of 38.28. This means that Coney Hill has higher levels of deprivation than England (21.46) and higher levels of deprivation than Gloucestershire (14.92).

The church has already accessed grant money from Gloucester Diocese to put in new windows, and a County Council to put in a new kitchen. The next phase is the toilets, an air-to-air heating system, and to fit a suspended ceiling with insulation and LED lighting.

The renovation hall will provide a vital lifeline for the community as it is the only community building in an area of high deprivation, and its current condition limits its use due to high running costs and poor facilities. By investing in energy-efficient improvements that will bring heating costs down, it will ensure that the hall remains affordable and accessible for all.
This project will create a warm, welcoming, accessible and practical space that can be used year-round for a wide range of activities, from youth groups and family support services to older people’s social clubs, training sessions, and community events. Reducing energy costs will mean that no group is priced out of using the building, helping to combat social isolation, improve wellbeing, and strengthen community connections.