CHURCH COMPLETES £1.3M REFURBISHMENT

A congregation in Airdrie has unveiled an environmentally friendly renovation of their church, former manse and hall.

The changes at Cairnlea Parish Church have made their buildings more accessible and include flexible spaces to better serve the needs of the community around them.

The £1.3m project was begun after the union of two congregations in 2016 when it was decided that only one church would be used for worship and that the former Broomknoll site was no longer needed.

Through a combination of funds from the proceeds of the Broomknoll building, energetic fundraising, congregational giving, and grant awards they were then able to begin the next phase to improve the interior of the remaining church, hall and house.

Parish minister, the Rev Peter Donald, said: “The sanctuary was not very accessible at all and there were fixed pews which meant it was felt that it wasn’t really allowing the building to be used except on a Sunday.

“We took out all of the fossil fuel heating and put in renewable air source heat pumps instead -creating an asset fit for the 21st century.

“The building itself, which is a rather fine ‘B listed’ church, has really sung with the new lighting and the redecoration and is much more beautiful than it was before but with the advantages of full accessibility and new toilets so it’s a total win.”

After the church was finished in April 2021, the work on Cairnlea House, the former manse, began which took until October and included adding a lift for accessibility. Work to the hall included insulating the ceiling, replacing the stage, and installing air source heat pumps, all of which were ready in time for Christmas. Peter said: “We’ve all had to work very hard and this could never have happened without an amazingly gifted team within the church, who have given so many hours to overseeing the project. The finished product is so much better than we even imagined it could be.”

Meanwhile the Broomknoll building has been adapted into affordable housing. Peter said: “Rather than putting the additional building on the open market, the Cairnlea congregation invested in getting planning permission and drawings done to turn it into affordable housing.

“A housing association has now taken on the former church with support from the Scottish Government to adapt it.

“It was the most satisfactory way we could think of to make sure that the former church site was not going to be neglected.”