Build Blog - 3 - January 2013

1st January 2013

Chris Bury, a member of the Youth funding team,  tells us about the journey to where we are today:

“It’s been 3 years in the planning and the climbing barn is finally coming to fruition with the start of construction, though we still have some fundraising and voluntary hours to put in before the centre is completed fully.  It would be nice to tell you how we got to this point today. It all started at one of the earliest work parties in a stable block. 

I had recently been selected to attend the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden and had been doing a lot of research into fundraising. The designs for the centre had finally been done and yet the design had no plan for a climbing wall. We all agreed we really wanted a climbing wall but we were told that it wasn’t in the plan and we couldn’t yet afford to do it. Something clicked in my head of a grant I had come across in my Jamboree fundraising research.  I said we could get the money and at that point it stemmed from there.  In a short space of time I sorted the form being filled in and the plan of what we wanted to do, an estimate of costs including using the Buckmore wall and a building to re-construct it in.

We got a call giving us ten days to get a presentation together and the team to deliver it, we advertised the wall on Facebook to get support from other young people and in two days we had 160 paragraphs of support. After delivering the presentation applying for £166,000 it took a while to get confirmation but as we started the removal of the wall at Buckmore Park we got a fax informing us we got £155,000 towards the centre.

Volunteers took four weekends to strip the wall out and transport it down to Lower Grange Farm. After we got this money we met together as young people and discussed what we wanted further in the centre. 

We discussed the options and wanted to add ice climbing, lead climbing, a gallery and full accessibility for the disabled.  We also agreed to the quote we wanted on the stone for Bear Grylls to open the project:

“Every Young Person deserves an adventure”

In October 2010, Bear Grylls unveiled the start of the project. In the process of waiting for planning permission we found more money and were awarded grants from: The Coutts Charitable Trust, Nicky and Eileen Barber Trust, Maidstone Rotary Club, Southern and South East Water. Alex Bates and Liam Starling gave a presentation to the junior Barclays challenge and were awarded £500 so the additional grants totalled £14,000. We have other plans to raise further funds in order to complete the centre. In the eager waiting for planning permission the ball finally started rolling!  We have come a very long way and have further to go but this youth inspired, driven and delivered project is incredibly exciting and looks to be the best in Scouting and in the South East”.

20th January 2013

It looks like work is going to have to wait for a little bit until some of this snow clears...

27th January 2013

This weekend was the weekend of the first work party of 2013!

We managed to get a lot done and the good news is that the climbing wall is starting to be erected inside the climbing barn! We have had young people in the climbing barn today and yesterday, sanding down the metal work ready for them to add a protective layer of paint onto the steel to protect it from all weather conditions! We have had a lot of work going on this weekend and if you would like to read more about it, don't forget to check out the Lower Grange Farm Facebook page!