New hall

1st Corringham Scout Group is celebrating its 95th Anniversary in 2021; over its 95 years the group has provided Scouting skills and opportunities to an estimated 4000 young people. Taking part in all sorts of activities from Kayaking to climbing, archery to shooting, as well as attending numerous camps, jamborees and community activities.  

In 1959 we were gifted land in herd lane, which came with a wooden hut, and in 1972 our volunteers constructed our own hall from a second hand pre fab building and we’ve been able to call it home ever since.  In the last 10 years it was identified that the hall was starting to deteriorate where the concrete slab foundations was breaking in half.  Over the years this was becoming a real concern for safety with the young people and its many volunteers. It was also becoming a security risk where all the doorframes were moving and no longer latching properly.

Our volunteer fundraisers got to work and managed to raise enough money to pay for the demolition of our hall and rebuild a watertight secure new hall. 

Once the hall was demolished it became very clear why the hall was subsiding and the issues we found had never come up in the original soil samples taken around the edge of the hall.  There was a major soil contamination underneath the hall, which occurred long before we obtained the land. These contaminations over time caused the hall to move and subsequently break. 

The only way to complete the project and with our Scout ethics we took the decision to remove all the contaminated material and make good the land to a safe clean site.  This was at a cost of  £120,000, which was never in the original budget and subsequently ate up the rest of our funds. 

Because of this deficit we are now only able to complete the new concrete slab and foundations. This is particularly upsetting for all the volunteers who have worked hard to get us to where we are now. 

We continue to fundraise to push this project forward, to build our new hall for all our young people and the local community to enjoy, and we would love your support in doing this.