The inhabitants of the East of the Somme will have to wait before being able to hear, again, the famous Ham organ. Very tired, the device, which dates from the 1950s, has been awaiting restoration for many yearsto the point that the October 13 concert of the Friends of the Organ further highlighted the voice, the accordion, and the piano. “The organ can still be used for masses, but no longer for two-hour concerts“, concedes Eric Legrand.
A song of 7 to 8 months for the renovation of the organ
The municipality has therefore endeavored to structure a heavy phase of work, which must begin from January 2025all for a total cost of €111,882.23 including tax. For the moment, the collection of donations, managed by the heritage foundation, has raised €12,485.
The remainder is borne by the municipality because there are no parallel subsidies for this project. “The collection of donations will still be ongoing, throughout the work, and the municipality will provide the missing funding. “, confirmed the elected official from Hamois, who noted that the organ only underwent partial renovation in the 1990s. “CIt has therefore been almost 35 years since it was rehabilitated.“
The good news is that a craftsman specializing in this type of restoration was chosen to rehabilitate it: “We are on 7 to 8 months of worknotes the first councilor, who hopes that the organ will once again delight music lovers at the end of 2025, for the next Friends of the Organ concert.
And the Abbey Church?
Renovation work on the roofs of the abbey church should also begin at the end of the year. The project is expected to last three years, in two phases. The first campaign will take place in the south and north sectors of the nave (optional section). All for an amount of €1,463,000, subsidized 50% by the State (€609,585), 20% by the Regional Council (€243,834), and 10% by the Community of Communes (121,917 €). The city should therefore release €287,675 in equity.
The consultation of the companies has been carried out, the municipality is now awaiting the analysis report of the offers from the heritage architect before starting work on these two phases. “We are satisfied to benefit from 80% subsidies on this project. We opened the quotes about twenty days ago. The objective is to start work before the end of the year.”
The municipality will then tackle the entire exterior part of the building. “We have a total budget of almost €3 million. Of course, without subsidies, we couldn't go there“, added the local elected official.
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