The Church was taken aback during the autumn because the Tax Authorities decided that the building would be liable for the full VAT rate.  We had believed that it would be exempt as a new church hall should be.  But the connections between the new hall and the church were deemed to be sufficient to mean that we have to pay VAT.  We also realized that there would be some additional costs because of the extra under-pinning that it was decided we needed, and the delays themselves caused further cost.

Therefore we set out to raise an additional £167,000 in three months to cover these unexpected costs.

We can now report that thanks to the generosity of the following grant bodies we have  raised that amount within the time necessary.  We are so thrilled, and believe that the vision we have of extending the love of God through the re-developed building here at Christ Church has been fully recognized.

Grants and donations have come from:

• The United Reformed Church Yorkshire Synod Mission Fund
• The Sheffield Circuit of the Methodist Church
• The Sheffield District of the Methodist Church
• The Property Fund of the Methodist Church in Great Britain
• An anonymous local donor.

We are truly humbled by the response we have received.