September 25, 2016 | Lancaster Guardian
One of Lancaster’s longest standing Scout groups has a newly refurbished home thanks to a year of fundraising.
The hut belonging to the 13th Lancaster Scout Group, based at Giant Axe in West Road, had fallen into a state of disrepair and was in desperate need of a new floor, doors and disabled facilities.
But now, thanks to a fundraising effort and grants from local and national organisations including the Community Benefit Fund, Awards for All England and the Lancashire Environment Fund, the group has secured new flooring, doors, disabled toilet facilities and ramp access.
The group, which has just celebrated its 90th anniversary, has been using the building for 26 years.
Chairman Kate Norman said: “We had started to have some problems with the floor and ceiling and security and we had patch repaired it. A refurbishment was due so about 12 months ago we decided to fundraise as much as we could and apply for funding.”
The group, including Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, held several fundraising events including a bag pack, bake-off, Christmas bazaar, clothes swap, car boot sale and plant sale.
They also helped out with a lot of the refurbishment themselves to save money.
“It brought a lot of people together,” Kate added.
Group Scout leader Pat Griffin said: “We needed to get the building future-proofed. It became more urgent over the winter and became a major operation. Now we have got a decent building we can continue to go from strength to strength. It’s very much the heart of the district and something a lot of people have used over the years.”
