New Scout Headquarters and Equipment

The Pitch

Problem statement

1st Knutsford Scouts are building a new headquarters, not just to be used by our Beaver, Cub and Scout troops, but also by the wider Knutsford community. Having built the shell our attention has now turned to the interior furnishings of the building, the tables, chairs and catering equipment so that a wide range of different organisations will be able to use the premises. This may be for birthday parties, WI meetings, fitness classes and other community organisations. We are looking to fund 10 folding tables and a combination of folding benches and chairs for 60 people. We also want crockery, cutlery, glassware etc for 60 people. We anticipate we can achieve this on a budget of £3000

Solution

The goal is to ensure that the facilities we offer to the community mean the headquarters is booked up all day every day. We want it to become the place that people want to hire for their event. By securing this funding it would mean that we can finish the interior and can fully open from day one. Covid has impacted on our budget enormously (costly delays and material price increases) so we currently don't have any budget left for the fixtures and fittings but we know that having the right facilities from the start will make the headquarters much more attractive and convenient for the people of Knutsford. We wish to be able to offer the number one venue for community bookings in the town.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

We are central to the town centre, we will be fully accessible in terms of disabled facilities, there is parking nearby and there is no other venue in Knutsford that is big enough for large group activities. We have had a headquarters down on the Moor for over 100 years but this is the first time we will have a facility that is of a high enough quality and calibre to be used by the entire town. We are very proud of what we are creating. A marketing company in Knutsford is creating our website and booking system for us and we intend to rent the space at fair rates so that the cost is not prohibitive to any organisation or group that wishes to use the facilities.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

350 people

Expected impact

We currently have 3 troops that use the headquarters 2 nights a week. Our intention is that the headquarters will be used by the wider Knutsford community 7 days a week, day and evening. We already have registered interest from the WI, a Girlguiding unit, a school tutor, a yoga class, a badminton group, a mums and babies fitness class and several clients asking about function hire. As we will be using bookings to help with the running costs we have set ourselves a target to have 50% occupancy within 3-6 months. The enquiries we have taken so far make us feel very confident that we are being realistic. We would then expect to be fully booked within the year.

Track record

We have worked closely with a number of groups and organisations to fund where we have got to so far. All express amazement at how fabulous the building is going to be and they share our frustrations over the delays caused by Covid, but are supportive that the project is very firmly back on track and will be a huge asset to the town of Knutsford once it is complete. We have recently met with Laura Nelson and Jon Pettman from the AmeySRM M6J19 Improvement scheme to discuss ways that they can be involved in our project as we need some help finishing off the exterior groundworks. Amey and Sir Robert McAlpine have a strong track record of working with local organisations on community projects and we welcome their knowledge and expertise. They were very excited to see what we are creating and have offered us some help to create the disabled ramp up to the entrance door, to create hardstanding for some cars, help with drainage and to generally clear and tidy up the site.

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