Welcome to the latest edition of the Diocesan Property Bulletin. Read on for more information about:
- Christmas Emergency Contacts
- Heating at Christmas
- 2026 Decoration & Insulation Grant
- Fixing Electrical Issues
- Chimney Cleaning
- Net Zero Carbon Assessments
- Warm Homes Grant Reminder
Best wishes, Property Team:
Charlotte Kirby, Property Director
Barbara Young, Parsonages Estates Manager
Elizabeth Pazzi-Axworthy, Estates and Trusts Officer
Sharon Matchwick, Estates and Trusts Officer (temporary cover)
Lesley Shrosbree, Property Team Administrator
Property Team – property@stalbansdiocese.org
Christmas Contacts
The Diocesan Offices will be closed over the Christmas period and we will have reduced access to email and telephone. We will be checking Fixflo daily.
If you have an urgent issue, please contact one of our emergency contacts (listed on our website & Fixflo). In the unlikely event that you do not get a response, please call a local contractor directly to ensure that the problem is quickly resolved, reducing risk to people and property. Please also log the issue on Fixflo detailing the action we have taken so that we are aware.
Heating
Please remember to leave some heating on if you are going away, even if it is only for a few nights. We had four major leaks last year due to lack of heating; no one wants to come home to a flood. We recommend that the heating should be set to a minimum of 12 degrees.
Decoration & Insulation Grant 2026
As you know, the responsibility for internal decorations in your home rests with you. However, we do recognise that the cost of decorating even one or two rooms a year on a rolling programme can be quite high.
In recognition of this, the Board of Finance has again agreed to provide grants towards the cost of decorating materials for internal decorations. This year the Board has agreed to double the contribution it will make and will refund you up to a maximum of £500.
Please supply details of any internal decorations which you are proposing to carry out in 2026, together with a rough estimate of the cost of materials when you apply for a grant via this form before 27th March 2026. Grants for additional funding for insulation can also be included on the form and these must be approved before you proceed.
If you were successful in applying for a grant in 2025, you must submit your receipts before the end of December 2025 for this year.
Fixing Electrical Issues
For your own safety please do not attempt to carry out any alterations to the existing electrical installations in your property, such as changing light fittings or changing sockets. New electrical regulations are now in place, which prohibit the carrying out of such additions or alterations by anyone other than a qualified contractor. Please report anything you feel needs doing on Fixflo and the Property Team will be in touch.
Chimney Cleaning
A reminder that if you have an open fire in your house and plan to use it over Christmas, you should arrange it’s annual sweep.
Net Zero Carbon Assessments
We are delighted to let you know that we have funding to carry out Net Zero Carbon retrofit assessments on our clergy housing. This is a vital step in helping us to consider our next steps to achieve our NZC goals, including identifying the budget we will need in years beyond 2026. We will be prioritising houses with the oldest boilers, oil boilers and cavity walls for assessment, but all houses we are responsible for will be assessed in due course. It is likely that some of you will hear from us early in the New Year about assessment, but as we hope you can understand, we need to roll out the programme over 2026. If you have any queries in the meantime let us know.
Warm Homes Grant Reminder
The Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme is being delivered by various local authorities to make energy-saving improvements homes, funded by central government.
The scheme is open to all privately-owned homes with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D, E, F or G. There is normally a household income cap of £36,000, however if you are in receipt of certain benefits you may still qualify.
You can check your eligibility and apply for the scheme here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-warm-homes-local-grant
It takes less than five minutes to apply and find out if you are eligible.