Scout Group officially opens new hall

1st Lady Bay Scout Group has officially opened its new, state-of-the-art hall after years of fundraising.

Photo: Captured by Coops

Fundraising for the new Scout Hall has been ongoing for many years, but was completed in 2016 thanks to grants of £49,950 from WREN, £25,080 from Nottinghamshire County Council, £30,000 from Veolia Environmental Trust and £15,000 from Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Capital Grant – plus a hard-earned large donation from 6th West Bridgford Scouts when the Group merged together with 1st Lady Bay a few years ago.

Building work began after the old Scout Hut was demolished in September 2016 and was completed in May 2017.

The new building was officially opened on Sunday 9 July 2017 by the Mayor of Rushcliffe, Cllr Barrie Cooper.

After the opening ceremony, the building was opened to parents, former Cubs and Scouts, and members of the local community as a special Scout Hall Café as part of the Lady Bay Open Gardens festival.

Photo: Captured by Coops

Built in 1965, the former prefabricated concrete hut had a life expectancy of about 25 years.  Forty years on, the Group were advised that the leaking roof and eroding external walls were beyond economic repair and that they had 5 to 10 years before the building needed replacing.

The new building boasts a modern kitchen and toilets, disabled access, a main hall and a meeting room – all available to hire by the community.

Elaine Clarke, 1st Lady Bay Cub Scout Leader, said: “This really is a dream come true. Opening the new Scout Hall marks the end of many years of fundraising – and the beginning of a new era for Scouting in Lady Bay. We need to thank so many people for their support, from our funders & committee members past and present to former Group members and anyone who’s helped in any way.

“Hundreds of children have benefited from 1st Lady Bay Scouts over the last 90 years. We’re delighted that we can now protect our local Scout Group and secure its future for the next 90 years in the fabulous, modern, central meeting place it deserves.”

Photo: Captured by Coops

Richard Mansfield, Chairman of the 1st Lady Bay Scouts Committee, said: “We want our new building to continue to be a community hub for everyone to use. As well as the weekly meetings of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, the hall is used by lots of other people – from karate and yoga groups, to the women who meet, and make new friends, during their pre-natal exercise classes. It will also be a fantastic café venue for the regular community Arts and Open Gardens festival weekends that are a regular annual features of the Lady Bay community calendar.”

Special thanks goes to WREN, a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, biodiversity and heritage projects from funds donated by FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Cheryl Raynor, WREN’s grant manager for Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire says: “It’s wonderful to see something we have funded finally open and ready to make such a difference to the local area. WREN is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that benefit local communities and this is a great example of what can be achieved.”

The Veolia Environmental Trust also awards grants through the Landfill Communities Fund. Executive Director Paul Taylor said: “We like to fund community buildings, such as Scout halls, as they are a great example of a resource that benefits young and old alike. We wish the 1st Lady Bay Scout Group every success in their new headquarters.”

Councillor John Cottee, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s communities and place committee, said: “We are delighted that the new hall will officially open as these facilities will be of great benefit to the local community as well as to the local youngsters who are members of the 1st Lady Bay Scout group.

“Nottinghamshire County Council funding, worth more than £25,000 is being spent on a number of improvements including new kitchen facilities.”

The new Scout Hall was built by Beaufort Construction and designed by Welham Architects.

For more information about WREN funding contact Cheryl Raynor at cheryl.raynor@wren.org.uk or visit http://www.wren.org.uk/

The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme enabling Landfill Operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). They use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit (currently 5.3%) against their landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make. Since its inception in 1996, over £1.3bn billion has been spent on more than 51,000 projects across the UK. For further information, please visit www.entrust.org.uk or see HMRC’s general guide to Landfill Tax.

The Veolia Environmental Trust has been supporting community and environmental projects through the Landfill Communities Fund for 20 years. Since we were established in 1997, Veolia has supported us with contributions totalling £71 million, enabling 2,120 projects to successfully complete. These have included ones to repair woodland footpaths, improve community halls and the install skateparks and playgrounds. For more information, or to find out how to apply for funding, visit our website www.veoliatrust.org.