St Stephen's Roof Renewal

Securing the future of our thriving community in Rednal

Our church roof is in urgent need of significant repairs. We need to raise £250,000 to complete extensive work across our building - replacing six sections of our flat-roof.

Securing and replacing these failing roof sections will safeguard a well-used community asset and allow the church to continue providing vital support, activities and hospitality for the Rednal community.

St Stephen’s Church was built in 1951, providing a simple but practical design for a growing post-war community. Over the following decades, the building expanded to include a sacristy, offices, meeting rooms and a large community hall. This growth has resulted in seven flat roofs across six levels, all of which now require full replacement.

Flat roofs, unlike pitched ones, have very little slope, which can lead to drainage problems. Challenges have included debris clogging up what drainage we have, pooling water seeping through cracks, and leakages inside the building in a number of places

The current Trocal (PVC) membrane—installed in 1990—has exceeded its service life. Ageing of the material, combined with internal fixings rising through the membrane, has led to regular leaks. Water ingress causes damage to ceilings, the parquet flooring and interior fittings, often requiring drying-out periods, temporary closures and cosmetic repairs. Although a volunteer undertakes regular inspections and minor patch repairs, the issues are now beyond what temporary fixes can sustain.

Make a donation

We are currently accepting donations online via The Church of England's Parish Giving Scheme.

Make a donation via bank transfer

HSBC Account name:: Parochial Church Council of St Stephens the Martyr Bank

Sort code: 40-11-47

Account number: 31086790

You can also make cash and card donations in person.

Upcoming fundraising events

Project updates

Sacristy roof repairs completed

10 February 2026

Emergency repairs to our sacristy roof have been completed. This has included a new covering to the outside of the building, improved insulation, and work to restore the suspended ceiling inside.

The cost of these repairs to this portion of the building alone has come to around £25,000 - with emergency support from The Church of England - Birmingham and funding from our church community. The photos below show the new exterior coating, which will hopefully reduce the severe leakages to this vital part of our building.

Leaking in our cupboards

2 February 2026

Unfortunately, continued water damage has affected a number of our store cupboards around the church over the past week. Temporary emergency sheeting has been put in place to protect items we need to store, with the aim of also diverting water into buckets.

Storm Goretti and many buckets

9 January 2026

The snow from storm Goretti in early January 2026 severely impacted our already struggling roof. Sadly, the sight of buckets throughout the Church has become increasingly common in recent years, and even more during times of bad weather.

The heavy snowfall, widespread frost, and subsequent thawing created new cracks, leading to new areas affected by water damage throughout the building. As well as the outer layer of the roof, several internal layers of the roof also need replacing

Sadly, we had to cancel our regular Sunday worship, and close The Pantry on Sunday 11 January as a result of the damage.

Work on the emergency repairs is due to start imminently, but our fundraising efforts are continuing, to ensure we can complete the restoration and renewal of our roof.

Water pooling on the flat roof

Autumn 2025

The following photos, taken in 2025, show extensive pooling across our flat roof. Volunteers from the church community have worked tirelessly to patch repair visible holes in the roof to reduce leaking, but a far more substantial solution is now required.

Regular leaks inside the church can be seen on our suspended ceilings, with damage to the floors and internal plasterwork.