I write with some details of the long awaited extension project to our Scout Hall.
Chevin Community Centre
As many of you will know, for some time we have been planning the construction of an extension to our existing meeting hall. This will provide us with two new meeting rooms, an enlarged kitchen, indoor toilets and a garage that will also double as a store room. After huge efforts by lots of people in planning and fund raising for the new building, we are now in a position to finally make a start and building work is expected to begin at the start of December.
We have already raised a significant amount of money towards the project over the last few years. We have been very well supported by parents, members of our Scout Group and other friends that the Scout Group in a variety of fund raising efforts. To date, we have raised around £115,000 with around £80,000 of this amount raised in the last 12 months, mainly through funding secured from Green Leeds Limited of almost £46,000 and only recently a further £25,000 from Grant Scape who work on behalf of landfill operator Caird Bardon in East Leeds. We still have further funds of around £30,000 to raise to complete the internal part of the building works but we have secured sufficient funds to commence work on the external shell of the building which is the part that will commence in December.
Building materials
We are working with a local builder for construction of the shell building. Through an agreement we have with the builder, if we are able to purchase any of the building materials that will be used to construct the shell building at prices that are cheaper than the price he will pay, the difference will be deducted from the building cost and allow more of our funds to be used towards the internal fitting out stage. This represents a great opportunity to raise further funds by trying to negotiate preferential rates to reduce the overall building cost.
We intend to approach a number of manufactures of building materials to see if we can negotiate any discounts given that our Scout Group is a charity and the building materials will be used to benefit the local community. We also wanted to see if any of our parents or supporters were able to obtain any discounts on building materials, perhaps through contacts you have. I have included a list of the building materials we require below and also attached a copy in Excel:
We are confirming the prices of the materials before we try to negotiate any discounts. I would be grateful if you could contact either me or Ian Morgan, our Scout Group Chairman (email address copied above) if you have any contacts who may be able to assist in obtaining discounts for any of the materials in the list. We will be needing these materials over the next month or two so we'd like to see if we can obtain any discounts over the next 2-3 weeks.
Working party
In preparation for building works commencing, we need to clear our existing store room, kitchen and the two garages at the side of the hut of all possessions. These will be stored in a metal container that will be located in the Scout Hut yard. Any unwanted items from our stores will also need to be taken to the local tip at Ellar Ghyll.
We would be grateful for the help of any parents on Saturday 27th November anytime from 10am until 4pm. If you can only spare an hour or two, we'd be very grateful for any help you can provide as we need to clear everything ready for demolition work of the existing outdoor toilets and kitchen/store room at the start of December.
Storage container and welfare cabin
We are hoping to obtain a 20-30 foot metal storage container and a welfare cabin including toilet. We have received quotes of around £50 per week for the hire of these (£12 for the container and £38 for the welfare unit). We are likely to require these for around 4 months so hire costs could be in the region of £1,000. If anyone has any contacts that could assist us in obtaining a cheaper hire or even a donation for around 4 months, we would be grateful to hear from you.
Cub Meetings during building work
Just so everyone is aware of plans for weekly meetings while building work is taking place, we intend to meet as normal in the main hall which will be fully usable throughout the building works. Toilet facilities will be provided in the welfare cabin which will located where the existing garages are at the side of the Scout Hut. We will separate off the building works with 6 foot fencing so there will be no risk of the Cubs entering the building site during evening meetings.
We plan to keep everyone informed of progress on the building work over the next few months. Updates will be provided on our website whilst the building works are taking place.
We will also be holding a foundation stone laying ceremony to mark the start of the work. More details will be provided when a date is set for this ceremony to take place and we will be inviting everyone who has made donations of time and money to the ceremony, the local press and members of our Scout Group.
If you can help with any of the above requests, please do let me or Ian know. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible at the Working Party on Saturday 27th November.
Regards,
Trevor
