Sun through the windows, bleach in the air

Chiseldon sits in Wiltshire, England. We are circa one mile South of junction 15 of the M4.

With less than a week to the signing of the lease agreement (between Chiseldon Sport & Social Club and 1st Chiseldon Air Scout Group), the pressure is on the accelerate access to the hall and clear the hall of a great deal of clutter.

Lets rewind a bit and explain how we got here:

After a period of over twelve years with the hall standing empty and many in Chiseldon believing the Calley Memorial Hall was dilapidated and beyond repair, the Scout Group had a chance opportunity to see the insides of the building. Where was the massive water damage and where were the rotten floor boards? To a layman, it was very clear that the hall was sat idle and probably didn't need that much to bring it back into use. This at a time when groups in Chiseldon needed larger premises to conduct Scouting, put on plays, play bingo etc. or hold private functions.

The Scout Group currently meets in a non permanent community building that is by no means perfect. The building sweats when young people play indoor games and boils in the summer, voices ring due to the low ceilings and cramped conditions. Whilst its quite a recent build, the structure does not feel like it is fit for purpose and a desire has grown to find a more appropriate venue for Chiseldon Scouting.

Protracted discussions about the transfer of the freehold from the Sports & Social Club to a village trust and the parish council came to nothing, with the Club rightly wanting to protect an asset (the hall) they acquired some years ago. The opportunity for pragmatic progress came when the Scout group expressed an interest in taking on the lease hold of the hall, - not just for Scouting activities but (significantly) with intention of making the hall available for use by other groups and individuals in the village, on a 'not for profit' basis.

Since the initial approach by the Scout Group, Chiseldon Sports & Social Club have been excellent partners and most supportive as we move towards taking on the hall and operating it for Scouting and Chiseldon.

The lease agreement will be based on a pepper-corn rent, over a 50 year period, with protection for third party or Scout funds that are used to renovate the hall. If the Club sells the hall, there is an undertaking that we either get a new Scout Hall or get our capital back.

Our initial business plans were based on accessing Chiseldon village trust funds, but these are dire economic times and we believe we need to bring the hall back into use as cheaply as possible. We will seek some enabling funding that the Parish Council have set aside and once we have an operating hall, we might then ask others for more significant financial assistance with larger hall projects.

Based on a professional survey of the building, we have a number of routes that lead to the hall being brought into use. We could go 'big bang' and spend lots, but that does not feel right, so we are doing the job as cheaply as possible.

We know we have to put a new distribution board into the building for the electrics (a survey says much of the electrics are fine). The oil fired heating needs to be repaired and brought into service. Water needs to be connected (it was cut off a few years ago, post the burst of a pipe feeding the club).

Sometimes plans have activities that are forced out of sequence. We have that right now. A local firm has offered to come and do some cleaning and decorating for us. I cant name them, but having let the team view the hall on Friday, it was clear that we couldn't ask them to decorate if the floor was full of boxes and other rubbish.

At nine this morning, members of the Scout Group leadership team started disposing of the clutter. By late afternoon, we have a main floor that is nearly clear. One aspiration was to take down the boards covering the external windows and let some light in. Members of the Club helped us remove the boards and sunlight shone into the hall.

All of the toilets, urinals and hand basins have long since seen their contents evaporate. A strong dose of bleach and water from a Club hose pipe started the process of cleaning the ceramics and blocking foul smells from the drains.

If the weather turns bad in the next week, there is a chance that the local company offering help with the decoration, could be with us and in the hall in the coming week. We needed to be ready for them and have materials to hand (they provide man power, but we need to provide the paint, cleaning products and tools).

Yesterday (Saturday 17 Jan 2009) saw us visit the Swindon Scrap store. There we met Olivia, she listened to our project and pointed us to her paint store. We left with over 200 litres of paint and varnish, to be used on the hall. It was fantastic to visit the Scrap store with zero budget and walk away on the promise of me sending in a donation.

There is lots to do, we have the project underway and we are ready for our decorating visitors (should they appear this week). As I looked back at the hall, late this afternoon, with the boards down from three of the front windows, we have some visible progress on what is a significant project for Chiseldon Scouting and the wider community in the village.