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Housing and glebe land

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The Diocesan Property Team:

  1. Provides and maintains good quality houses for clergy and their families

  2. Undertakes the annual periodic survey and planned maintenance programme for vicarages.

  3. Manages the property helpdesk and reactive repairs services and carries out work to houses quickly and efficiently within agreed response times.

  4. Completes vacancy works following appointment of clergy or for rental. 

  5. Oversees the custodian trustee responsibilities for land and property managed by PCC’s in accordance with the 1956 PCC powers measure

  6. Manages the Diocese of Chelmsford Glebe Land portfolio.

Property Team Helpdesk

Please report all repairs to the Property Team Help Desk in the first instance.

If you need a repair that is not under the responsibility of your PCC please call the Property Department Helpdesk on 01245 294471 or send the helpdesk an email.  It is helpful if you give as many details as possible including:

  • Your name, address and telephone number (where you can be contacted during the day).
  • What and where the problem is.
  • Access details or times during the week when a contractor or a member of staff can inspect or carry out the repair.  Please be as flexible as possible, giving times for access, as it is often not possible to make specific appointments.
  • Any other information you think will be useful (e.g. the make of a central heating boiler).
  • Details of specific contractors that you think should be invited to tender for the work (where applicable).

For emergency repairs outside of office hours

Gas boiler breakdowns

Carthy’s plumbing and heating services 07850 411868 / 01992 570286

General building repairs

Carthy’s building services: 07850 411868 / 01992 570286

Maldon Building Services Ltd: 01621 828251

Efficiencies Ltd: 07801 365359

EH Archer and Son Ltd: 07837 742693 / 01371 876350

In the event you are unable to reach one of our preferred contractors, please do the following

For minor repairs

  1. Consult your Archdeacon if necessary
  2. Visit Check trade at https://www.checkatrade.com/
  3. Follow the steps and describe the issue requiring attention
  4. Seek an estimate
  5. Confirm appointment
  6. Confirm the nature of the fault with the contractor on site and their estimate for the repair with VAT
  7. Agree repair as appropriate
  8. Make payment and request an invoice
  9. Send details of the repair and the invoice to the property helpdesk to arrange reimbursement propertyhelpdesk@chelmsford.anglican.org

For major repairs estimated to be over £500, please contact Sid Rudd on 077 4062 8368.

Guide for Residents

This following guide has been prepared to assist clergy and lay workers and their families with the management of their home. It seeks to explain how the system of maintaining our houses works, and to set out clearly who does what, and when.

The ‘Guide for Residents’ contains information on what to do in a vacancy (pages 13-14) specifically advice on letting the vicarage, looking after the garden, reading the meters and what to do in case of property emergencies during the the vacancy. 

Glebe Land

Glebe is essentially church land, which was historically used to pay for the parish priest.

Glebe land was historically given to the Rector, which enhanced the Rector’s income from tithes. The amount of such land varied from parish to parish.  A holder of a benefice could retain the glebe for his own use, usually for agricultural exploitation, or he could “farm” it (i.e. lease it) to others and retain the rent as the income. Information about the glebe would be recorded at ecclesiastical visitations in a glebe “terrier”.

Glebe associated with the Church of England ceased to belong to individual incumbents as from 1 April 1978, by virtue of the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976. It became vested on that date, in the Diocesan Board of Finance of the diocese to which the benefice owning the glebe belonged, even if the glebe was in another diocese.

The Diocese of Chelmsford has a glebe portfolio. This portfolio is managed by the Diocesan Property Team. If you have a query about Diocesan glebe, please contact Rebecca Hartley (contact details below). If you need to contact us about glebe tree management issues, please email trees@chelmsford.anglican.org 

Contact the Property Team 

Our Property Team support those who live in diocesan owned houses across Essex and East London. If you have a query related to Diocesan owned houses or glebe land, please email property@chelmsford.anglican.org.

The Property Team can also be contacted using the details below. 

Alex Reeve

Head of Property

Alex manages our Property Team and also deals with matters relating to PCC property and health & safety.

Tel: 01245 294434
Mobile: 07583 669286

 

Simon Garnier

Diocesan Surveyor

Simon works on the periodic programme. He is also a trained energy assessor and retrofit coordinator.

Tel: 01245 294415
Mobile: 07740 628369

 

Sid Rudd

Estates Manager

Sid manages lettings and vacancy works and provides facilities management for the DBF offices and Archdeacons houses.

Tel: 01245 294417
Mobile: 07740 628368

 

Susan Cartwright

Helpdesk Manager

Susan manages our Property Department Helpdesk.

Tel: 01245 294471

Email the helpdesk

 

Jamie Woods

Building Surveyor

Jamie works on the periodic programme. He is also a qualified electrical engineer and manages electrical works. 

Tel: 01245 294435
Mobile: 07740 628370

 

Rebecca Hartley

Property Team Administrator

Rebecca handles general queries surround Glebe sites and title deeds and plans as well as ad hoc administration matters for the team.

Tel: 01245 294414

 

Annie Bayley

Property Sales Officer

Annie manages our house sales and purchases. She also manages property rented by the DBF to house curates. 

Tel: 01245 294437

 

 

Other useful contacts 

Gas Central heating breakdown

The emergency out of hours contact number for gas central heating breakdown only (5pm – 8am - 7 days a week) 07850 411868

Other Diocesan Teams

The contact details for other diocesan teams can be found on the link below, 

If you have a query about:

  • Council Tax/ Water Rates/ Trusts please contact our Finance team
  • Church buildings please contact our DAC Team
  • School buildings please contact our Education Team