Liberty warms hearts and halls in Wigan with boiler replacement project

Shevington Methodist Church in Wigan had been battling with an ailing boiler system, jeopardising the church’s important role as a community hub. The cost of the repairs quoted by a local heating company was over £5,000 plus vat- a sum that the church simply couldn’t afford.

Wigan Council and Liberty, who, through their partnership, were able to offer a solution that not only solved the heating problems but also underscored Liberty’s social value commitments.

Ken from Wigan Council, understanding the predicament of the church, reached out to Liberty to see if they could help as part of the heating service and repair contract with Wigan Council.

Liberty is a company committed to delivering social value through its operations and has pledged over 1,000 volunteer hours and the creation of 2 apprenticeships for every £1m spent as part of the existing heating service and repair contract.

Upon inspection, Liberty’s local team found the church’s boiler system to be beyond economic repair. Rather than merely fixing the old system, the team set to work with Liberty’s supply chain partners to source and install a brand-new heating system which would provide efficient and reliable heating and hot water for the church for years to come.

Ideal, a leading boiler manufacturer, generously donated an Ideal Logic Combi C34 boiler for the project, whilst Wolseley contributed pipes and fittings and Fernox provided chemical cleaners and filters. The Wigan Liberty team got to work in June 2023, removing the old system and replacing it with the new combi boiler upgrade.

The new system provides instant hot water on demand and delivers a more efficient heating solution with improved controls. This update ensures the church can continue its work as a vital community hub, hosting numerous local groups in its halls.

What makes this project even more special is the team behind the installation. The squad included two of Liberty’s highly trained local heating engineers and two local apprentices, Harrison and Tom. The project provided a unique opportunity for the apprentices to gain hands-on experience on a large-scale installation.

Andrew Culloden, Service Delivery Manager at Liberty said: “It was great to be involved with this project and I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the suppliers who helped us to deliver this project and to Warren, our Supervisor who oversaw the project from beginning to end.”

Kenneth Cook, Statutory Compliance Inspection Manager – Gas, said: “With the collaborative approach taken with Wigan Council and Liberty, we have been able to provide the local community hub a safe and warm place where the local community can attend. This opportunity gave the apprentices much needed experience, thank you to all involved”.

The completion of the project was met with gratitude and joy from the church. In a testimonial, a representative from Shevington Methodist Church said, “Great job completed, very helpful polite engineers, excellent tidying up no mess left. Brilliant job all round thank you very much from all at Shevington Methodist Church.”

In the end, the partnership between Wigan Council and the team at Liberty was able to deliver a heart-warming solution, literally and figuratively, for the Shevington Methodist Church.