CROWN 20/20 – Reflections on our modernisation mission 

The Crown 20/20 Group have achieved much since our formation four years
ago with a total of £466,000 being invested in church improvements to
provide a warm and welcoming home for worship and equip us with modern
and accessible facilities to support Christian outreach into our
community.

Real progress has been made in making the church fit for purpose in the
21st century, but it is clear our work is not over.  Plans are being
considered for a second phase of work to provide a more welcoming
entrance to the church and to make our building more energy efficient.

Our story began in 2019 when Crown 20/20 was formed to tackle the
challenges of falling attendances at church services, an ageing
congregation and a building in very real need of care and attention.
Just as we were discussing a plan of action, The Highland Council made
an approach to use the lower hall for a nursery unit for the
neighbouring Crown Primary School. Since the decision to partner the
Council in the nursery project, all areas of the church have been the
focus of refurbishment. The lower hall is now home to 64 three and
four-year-old pupils who moved into their new two-classroom home on
Wednesday 17 August, 2022.

As part of the partnership, the Council has upgraded the kitchen and
toilets on the ground floor and installed an 8-person lift to the Upper
Hall, replaced the condemned fire escape from the first floor hall and
enclosed it in an extremely attractive building

The benefits of a comprehensive asbestos removal programme conducted by
the Council cannot be over-emphasised. Overall, we now have a much
better understanding of our building structure and the supply services
for what may be required in the future.

In a separate contract, the upper hall has benefited from a
refurbishment to accommodate many of the church and community groups who
formerly used the lower hall.  These include the Breakfast Club, Corner
Club (After School), BBs, and Guides. This investment makes better use
of space, improves heating, lighting and insulation, provides greater
storage and features a new kitchen, new toilet/showers and provided
excellent audio/visual facilities.

In a third project, a more flexible use of the sanctuary has been
created by the replacement of pews in the main area with individual
seats. This was grant aided from a Scottish Government Covid Fund.

The major upgrade of the lighting and audio/visual system in the
sanctuary is almost complete. A grant of £74,343 from the Place-Based
Investment Programme - administered by The Highland Council on behalf of
the Scottish Government – is helping deliver on this element of the
community-led regeneration.

The space available in the church is augmented by a facelift of what was
the small hall and is now the dining room for the Nursery and a meeting
room for smaller group meetings at other times. The lounge has been
re-imagined and redecorated by members of Crown 20/20 and friends at
minimal cost and hosts the Olive Grove tearoom on Wednesdays and
Thursdays and is available to be booked at all other times for small
group meetings.

To mark the completion of these works an open day was held on Saturday
13 August, 2022 at which we paid tribute to the congregation for gifting
£33,600 towards the costs of the upper hall upgrade and the Council’s
Inverness Common Good Fund for a £30,000 grant, the Scottish Government
for a £9,500 grant for improved insulation through their Climate
Communities Action Fund and £32,500 through the Adapt and Thrive
Programme.

The main contractor for the Highland Council on the lower hall
conversion was Morrison Construction while I and K Ferguson carried out
the upgrade of the upper hall and removed the pews from the main area in
the sanctuary. Previously, the McGilp Window had been refurbished at a
cost of £80,000.

In conclusion, the investment in our church building has allowed us to
provide our congregation and the wider community with more modern,
accessible and flexible space in which to worship and meet.  We are
delighted to welcome the nursery pupils from Crown Primary School into
our building and there is scope for many other community groups to make
use of our enhanced facilities. We are committed to outreach with a very
clear sense of Christian purpose and to establish the church, the school
and the community facilities as the hub of the Crown community.