Our current Fundraising Priority: Kitchen Renovation Project
Refurbishment Project – Background
Broadstone Scout Group meeting hall was built in 1995. Many of the original fixtures and fittings are no longer fit for purpose after 30 years. The hall, which is the centre of Scouting activities in Broadstone, has supported thousands young people from the local community over this period. Currently we have approximately 250 young people in the membership, from approximately 170 local families. Meetings occur 5 evenings a week, with additional activities hosted at the weekends. It is usual to have the hall in use from 5pm to nearly 10pm every weeknight, with 2 sections meeting consecutively of an evening.
Broadstone Scout Group is an educational charity registered with the Charities Commission. Its activities are funded largely through the subscriptions paid by the young people and a small amount of income from hire of the hall for birthday parties, local exercise classes etc. For bigger projects we rely on additional fund-raising.
Modernising our facilities and making our hall safe
In 2023 the trustees commenced a comprehensive hall refurbishment project, but to continue this we now need external assistance. We have already used £13k of our reserves to mend and clean the roof, renew all the lighting (upgrading to LED) and install a modern fire alarm system. These urgent improvements have brought our building up to current safety standards, and will also reduce our energy consumption; however this necessary work has substantially reduced our financial reserves.
Our next objectives are:
- install a modern kitchen suitable for a community hall and remodel our meeting room;
- refurbish the hall floor;
- refurbish the toilets and showers and
- augment or replace our gas heating system.
These upgrade projects will ensure that the Scout Group, and the wider community, will enjoy good facilities for many years to come. By bettering the hall for hire, we also generate an increased income stream that will enable us to keep the cost of Scouting as low as possible for our young people and families.
The next phase of our project involves upgrading the kitchen.
A modern useable kitchen will enable us to greatly enhance the range of activities we can offer to our young people. It will be particularly useful for the regular sleepovers that we run and which, alongside outdoor camping, is a core part of the adventurous spirit that Scouting seeks to inspire in our young people.
Based on estimates we have received, the cost of the kitchen project will be up to £30K. We have secured £5k of funding from Talbot Village Trust towards this cost, which is a fantastic start. We are also able to commit up to £5k of our existing reserves towards this phase of our project. We are therefore looking for an additional £20k to get this part of the project underway. The intent is to complete the kitchen work in 2024, and fundraising towards this is ongoing.
Following this we aim to refurbish the hall floor, which we expect to cost around £6k. This will protect our Granwood floor and ensure that the hall remains useable for our regular meetings.
The refurbishment of the toilets and showers is likely to cost up to £15K.
Finally, we would like to upgrade our heating system. By upgrading to IR heating we will be able to heat the hall to a more useable temperature in a quicker time, and thus also decrease our energy consumption.
We would be very grateful for any donation you can make to help us meet our target.
Can you help?
We’re happy to accept any donations, whether its financial, material or labour. Please use the link for financial donations, for anything else please contact the GSL here
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