The Hall4All Appeal at King Charles the Martyr Church in Royal Tunbridge Wells is fundraising to renovate the roof of our church hall, which is in a bad state and no longer fit-for-purpose. 

The situation

The church hall was built in 1916 and the roof has never had a proper renovation. The nails holding down the tiles have corroded, with the risk of tiles flying off in extreme weather, as has already happened a couple of times. The roof frequently leaks, which could cause structural damage to the building and means that we have to spend lots of money continually repairing it. 

Our renovation will fix all these issues, ensuring that the roof is rainproof and safe so that the hall can be useable for decades to come. We’re also going to install new insulation into the roof cavity, improving the hall’s energy efficiency. 

A community centre in the heart of Tunbridge Wells

As you may know, our Church Hall is one of the best-loved community spaces in central Tunbridge Wells. It is a vibrant and well used community centre, hosting a large number of local groups, activities and classes, week in, week out. 

There are too many to list, but these include: community groups tackling loneliness and isolation among older people, the Warm Space in Winter 2022, as well as local MP surgeries, events from groups like MIND and Friends of the Earth, dog training and yoga classes, and many, many more. The Hall also used to be part of the Winter Shelter project for homeless people for 9 years, and more recently, hosted meet-up groups for local Ukrainian refugees. 

The roof renovation forms part of a wider renovation programme to the church hall, including installing a disabled-access ramp and improving our welcome by moving the Church Office to the front of the building and installing new signage. 

The team

We have assembled an experienced project team of a local RIBA-registered architect, Mike Eliades, and our Quantity Surveyor and Cost Consultant, DMP. Having completed a competitive tender process with 5 contractors earlier this year, we have chosen a local contractor in Tonbridge, Harlequin, to carry out the works. 

We have planning permission in place, so are now raising money so we can begin the 6-month-long programme of renovation in Spring/Summer 2025.

The Budget

Our total costs for phase one of this renovation has been forecast at £440,000. King Charles the Martyr is committing £90,000 towards this total – £60,000 from our own reserves as well as £30,000 raised from our wonderful programme of community fundraising events. This means that we still need to raise £350,000 to carry out the work.

We have launched a number of campaigns, such as a ‘buy-a-tile’ campaign to our wider resident community, and are regularly submitting grant applications to raise a further £100,000 – £250,000. However, to help get us over the line we are looking for a further £90,000 in support from our local community, businesses and visitors.

The PDF of the Hall for All brochure below gives more detail on the scope of Phase One, which is the first crucial step to a longer-term end goal. Alternatively if you wish to donate please click below