GRAND OPENING AND COMMUNITY VIEWING DAY

The Scouting Centre was officially opened by Peter Duncan today. After the opening, the centre remained open so that all members of the community could come and view the new facilities. Photographs of the opening can be viewed by clicking here.

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!

Section meetings are now taking place in the building. Thank you very much to everyone who has helped with the fund raising and/or the building work. Thank you also to Leofric Buildings Ltd, who supplied the basic building and to Bisley Property Company who have turned the basic shell into a smart new headquarters. There remains a small amount of work to do, but this will be completed over the next few weeks. An official opening is planned for mid September, by which time the new grass should have taken hold.

We have been awarded another generous grant of £5,000 from the Henry Smith Charity, bringing the total from this source to £10,000.

The floor covering was finished today. There only remains a number of tests and certificates to obtain on the electrical installation and the building will be ready for use.

The Quiz Night was a great success and raised £959. Thank you very much to the organisers.

The pavilion was demolished today with the aid of a large excavator fitted with a mechanical jaw which made short work of timber structure - see progress photographs.

Rohallion Security, a local company, have supplied and fitted an alarm system to protect the building and the stores. This has kindly been provided totally free of change. Thank you very much Rohallion.

We have been awarded a grant of £3,000 from the Kaye Family Fund, administered by the Surrey Community Foundation.

The building work is very nearly complete. However, there is currently a hitch with the floor because the concete floor slab is retaining too much moisture to enable the floor to be laid. Various options for dealing with this are being considered and this should be resolved shortly.

Construction of the new building is now proceeding apace. Parents have helped over two weekends to decorate the walls and woodwork. The electrics and heating are almost finished. The toilets and kitchen should be installed during the next week, followed by the flooring. The external hard landscaping should be completed over the next week.

Our Casino evening, hosted by Leatherhead Round Table, raised £1,370.

We have received a grant of £5,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

The groundworks have been completed sufficiently for the construction of the building to start. Leofric Building Systems started work today delivering the components of the pre-fabricated building (see progress photos). A steel frame will be put up first, on the concrete base that has already been constructed. This will be followed by the concrete walls (which we are later cladding in timber) and the roof. Leofric are also fitting the windows, most of the doors and are insulating and lining the building. If all goes to plan, Bisley will then return in about 3 to 4 weeks time to complete the internal fitting out work.

The building work started today! Bisley Property Co are setting up the site and their groundworks sub-contractor, S R Newman has started the groundworks.

Great news! We have been awarded a grant of £20,000 by the Thomas Flack Trust Fund.

Mole Valley District Council have granted Building Regulations approval for the new building.

We have decided to engage Bisley Property Company Ltd as the main building contractor. Bisley have previously completed work in Bookham on the Grange Centre. Bisley's tender has been accepted and we are currently agreeing a start date for the work. This will be essentially in three phases. First, the groundworks, including the new foundation and concrete ground slab. Second, the building itself (which will be put up by its supplier, Leofric Building Systems Ltd), and finally the fitting out which will be completed by Bisley.

Racking has been installed in one of the stores. (see progress photos).

A working party of parents, leaders and other helpers has installed a plywood lining in both of the new store buildings. (see progress photos). Travis Perkins, Leatherhead, kindly supplied the materials at a discounted rate. Thanks are due to Dougie who orgainised the work and provided most of the tools and expertise.

The second precast concrete store buildings has now been put up (see progress photos).

The first of the precast concrete store buildings was delivered to the site on 31st March and was erected on 1st April 2008 (see progress photos).

Tenders for the building work were returned on Monday, 31st March and need to be assessed before deciding who to employ to build the new centre.

Peter Duncan, the Chief Scout visited the Scouting Centre site on Saturday, 15th March 2008 to perform a "turf cutting" ceremony. Peter arrived at 10am to be greeted by a large contingent of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts as well as assorted parents and other well wishers. For more details and pictures, click here.

Tenders for the building work have been invited from two firms of building contractors, both of whom have previously worked locally.

Construction of the foundations for the new stores buildings has started (see progress photos). The store buildings will be precast concrete garages with a brick effect finish. The garages have been ordered and should be on site within the next three to four weeks.

A "thermometer" has been installed at the old scout hut site to show the fundraising status

The soil testing has indicated that the ground has the potential to shrink and swell with changes in moisture content caused by the action of tree roots. As we will be removing several trees close to the proposed location of the new building, there is a risk that the ground will swell and affect the foundations. With the assistance of a local builder, we are taking some further soil samples for testing. At the same time we