Cairnlea 2020
Building Refurbishment
On what used to be the site of Flowerhill Church, Airdrie, Cairnlea Parish Church is a union of what were two churches. Having managed to dispose of the former Airdrie Broomknoll Church site, the vision has been to achieve a substantial renovation of both church building and halls. An architect was selected and with the new design, planning permission and listed building consents were successfully sought. A contractor was appointed following a competitive tender process before the lockdown of 2020.
The project was managed in three distinct phases. Phase One relates to the original church building, B listed, with Phase Two relating to its attached Manse as was (now Cairnlea House). Phase Three was for the church hall. While Flowerhill engaged in successful fundraising and project management 15 years ago on the external stonework and roofing, the “Cairnlea 2020” vision is to renovate the interiors for the sake of significantly improving accessibility, usability and environmental impact.
To picture Phase One in a walk through: from the church grounds, entry at the main front door will bring you into a well-lit and open space with glass doors leading further. There are new excellent toilet facilities. A subdivision of the main space has allowed a gathering foyer where there can be displays and the serving of refreshments; an extra small room was created as a quiet and private space. Going through a further glass-topped partition which can be opened up to expand the principal space, the floor now is on a level, furnished with moveable seating and with under floor heating by air source heat pumps and high grade insulation on the ceiling. New lighting and a new AV installation enhances the facility. A new flexible platform (chancel) space has been created and the organ console moved. At the far end, which leads both to Cairnlea House and to the church hall (Phase Two and Three), while there have to be a few steps, electric lifts have been installed to allow everyone free access. A new back corridor has been created to address the circulation challenges previously had.
The vision was that both for worship occasions but then also for alternative uses of this outstanding interior with its considerable heritage, all the previous disadvantages of a raked floor, narrow aisles and fixed pews could be addressed. The remodelling, the new furniture and lighting, toilets and basic catering facilities invite both joyous worship and comings and goings throughout the week. Our mission statement is to be “committed to Christ and caring for our community” and opening up the church building will be allowing new and exciting ways of doing this beneficial to a community much wider than simply the worshipping family.
Phase Two took on the attached Cairnlea House (also B listed). Access issues again were a major part of this, that new corridor already mentioned and also the need for a lift, and then also again more efficient and environmentally friendly heating, and the renewal of windows, and the addition of insulation and the upgrading of toilet and kitchen space. To come in from the outside to Cairnlea House is to enter a more domestic space. With comfortable rooms we hope to be able to accommodate a wide variety of smaller gatherings of both the congregation and the wider community.
We have these assets in stone and glass, which need not just to be conserved but used well in service. We have been very aware how interior issues within our buildings hampered both community and congregational usage. We wanted the main space of the church not to be underused, and the attached house able to be accessed freely and easily. The upgrading of heating and insulation was driven by a determination to reduce radically if not eliminate altogether the dependence on fossil fuels. And so we have built on our openness to serve the whole community, which even before lockdown knew a footfall of people belonging to all sorts of churches and of no faith affiliation. Use of facilities was so high that we were not able to accommodate some local organisations requesting accommodation (note, our facilities are made available to community groups on a ‘not for profit’ basis). And so this undergirded Cairnlea 2020: addressing the needs already familiar to us and opening up new services.
Phase Three is the part most recently completed and following a distinct competitive tendering process. We were impelled to press on with this not least by the impact of the Covid crisis, and the hope that community events and fellowship might once again pick up in time. And so a church hall which was tired and draughty, and with no immediate storage space, has been transformed. As elsewhere, the heating is now by air source heat pumps, with much new necessary insulation being installed as part of the project. Most of the hall was part of the original build, but a borrowing of space from Cairnlea House has allowed the creation of new walk-in cupboards, vital for a space which has multiple users. Work has been done on the stage to ensure its continuing use – largely community-driven.
The funding and management of the project has consumed many hours on the part of church members, but has been remarkably successful. The sale of assets on the former Broomknoll site and the use of reserves gave the initial start-up funds; very generous giving and even lending by members of the congregation and friends then became essential – and that voluntary giving will continue while we pay off the outstanding balance (thankfully, on loans borrowed internally and not from any external bodies). And then we are most grateful to a long list of external funders, who have responded to our appeals for one or more of the Phases of work – AllChurches Trust, Awards for All – the National Lottery Community Fund, The Baird Trust, Robert Barr’s Charitable Trust, The Scottish Government’s Adapt and Thrive programme, Community Climate Asset Fund, EB Scotland funded by Avondale Environmental, part of the NPL Group through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund, The Ferguson Bequest, FCC Communities Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, Hope Beyond (AllChurches Trust), The Beatrice Laing Trust, Patersons Quarries Ltd through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund and administered by the LandTrust, the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), J Murray Napier Fund, The Presbytery of Hamilton, The Todd Bequest (General Trustees of the Church of Scotland), Sir A Boyd Tunnock.