Scouts face £30k bill to move HQ
A Stafford Scout group will have to quit the site of its current headquarters by July 2010.
The 21st West Stafford Scout Group estimates it needs to raise £30,000 to cover the cost of moving its existing headquarters in Lovelace Close, Highfields – a mobile building – to a new site.
Group secretary Michael Bradbury said that the first priority was to find a new piece of land to lease and then obtain planning permission to transfer the headquarters there.
"The site we are on at the moment belongs to Castle Church and they have told us they will not renew our current lease because they plan to develop the site in 2010. We are urgently trying to find a new site to relocate the mobile building to. The latest we can move is in July 2010," he explained.
The mobile building provides a main hall, two ancillary rooms, kitchen, toilets and a small office.
It is used by Scout, Cub, Beaver and Explorer units.
"We have more than 100 young people in all the various sections making use of the facilities," added Mr Bradbury, who has been with the group for four years and has been secretary for three years. The group serves the Highfields estate, Western Downs, Castlefields and also has members from Gnosall and Rickerscote where the scout group serving the area has recently closed.
"We would love to hear from anyone who could offer a suitable piece of land for us to lease.
"We would like to stay in the Highfields or Western Downs area," he added.
The group has already started fundraising ahead of the move and raised more than £3,000 from pre-Christmas bag packing days at Stafford's Tesco Extra, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's stores. A grand prize draw and Christmas fair raised a further £2,266. Mr Bradbury said the group concentrated fundraising around Christmas and hoped to do more bag packing again this year.
"Until we find a site and get planning permission we can't start applying for grant funding to help. We would probably approach the Big Lottery and Staffordshire County Council and other organisations offering help to youth groups," he added.
Stafford MP David Kidney has already offered his help and he visited the scout headquarters a week ago to view the existing facilities and meet the members.
Anyone who can offer a potential site for the group to move to should contact Mr Bradbury on 01785 211924.
