Restoration during Lockdown, April - September 2020

April to September 2020, months of Lockdown, tree work, pointing and a birthday…

“Lockdown 1” commenced at the Rehoboth on 24th March 2020 which prevented group volunteer activity. We liaised throughout this time period with the Neighbourhood Policing Team and our local Councillors.

We were informed that we could re-commence external work and went into action on 30th April 2020, and then a sewer burst in Coal Hill Lane within very close proximity and caused a flood into the entrance. The collapse closed Coal Hill Lane for a week and was fortuitous as it gave us the opportunity to trim overhanging branches from our Protected Trees and remove ivy that was suffocating some of the trees.

Other initiatives during and after the road closure was removing ivy from the Coal Hill Lane walls. Our next task was to remove loose mortar off the outside of the walls for subsequent pointing. This work was undertaken in two tranches throughout June and September 2020.

We have a policy to recycle wherever possible and the severed tree limbs were either recycled for the making of “Rehoboth Reindeer” (which raised £1300 later in the year). We also supplied free of charge chopped logs to local residents and businesses for their wood burning stoves. The ashes from any wood that we burnt on our licensed bonfire was bagged and donated to local gardeners and allotment holders.

On Sunday 14th June 2020 we commemorated our first birthday with a buffet comprising savouries, drinks and of course a birthday cake.

We were delighted on 21st June when Leeds City Council Highways Department completely replaced the entrance surface to our gates with a new cambered road surface which eliminated the flood problems we had encountered previously.