The Property Committee is a sub-committee of the Kirk Session (Unitary Constitution) and reports periodically to the Session.
The Committee is responsible for the care, maintenance and repair of the three Church buildings, these being the
- The Church Sanctuary building, located on Erskine Ferry Road. This is a Grade “B” listed building, constructed originally in 1815, with later additions of the Kirk Session Room (built in the early 1900s) (now known as the “Choir Room”), and an extension Hall dating to the 1970s.
- “The Cornerstone” on Greenock Road. This was originally built in the late 1890s as The Erskine Halls and was used by the Church as a Youth Centre until being extensively refurbished in 2006/7 and is now the main Church community building, and
- The Manse, located on Newton Road, which is a modern detached dwelling maintained for the use of the Minister.
The Church and the Manse are owned by the Church of Scotland General Trustees, while The Cornerstone is vested in the Kirk Session and the Minister. Regardless of ownership, the Parish Church Trustees are obliged to maintain the properties and (in general) to fund any improvements, particularly those required to adapt the buildings for changing uses and necessary improvements (e.g. to improve accessibility, to enhance building use through IT improvements etc.)
To do this, we have adopted a forward planning process, which sets out and agrees a budget for both routine maintenance works, including replacements as necessary, and project-driven improvement works, such as enhanced Audio-Visual equipment, heating improvements, and accessibility aids.
In order to manage the activities, we have a team of volunteers which works to manage and undertake the various tasks necessary. Some of our volunteers are more actively involved in other Kirk Session committees (e.g. the Finance Team, the Communications Committee and the Halls Committee) and I suppose we’re really operating a sort-of “Matrix Management” structure .. !
We try to support this by keeping almost all our records electronically on the Church Google Drives, so that they are readily accessible to all authorised users.
Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring their expertise from current and previous occupations to bear on the Church activities. The skill-sets needed range from “gift of the gab” (for fund-raising, publicity and general communications), “handyman / woman” with a range of DIY and general maintenance skills, “Supervisors” for looking after the management of sub-contractors and routine maintenance tasks including attending to defects, “Project Managers” for the coordination and management of the bigger tasks, and even data geeks to make up proposals and reports.
More are always welcome – you don’t have to be a Church member. So, if you’ve a bit of time available and don’t mind mucking in, do give me a call! Ian Earnshaw, Property Convenor, ian.earnshaw@bishoptonkirk.org.uk
