When the County Council announced that the site of our Scout Hut was to become a bus turning circle for a new access road to the Village College we had to decide what was going to happen to our meeting place, a large wooden hut.

It was suggested that we move the hut in its entirety to a new site within the Village College grounds about 100 metres away.

This sounds a relatively simple exercise until you think that the hut is 70 feet by 19 feet, made up of 5 feet by 8 feet wall panels and 10 feet by 5 feet roof panels (around 50 in all), the end walls are even more awkward and there were internal walls as well.

We must have been mad to take it on!

With a lot of help from the Probation Service, bringing along some very helpful people on Community Service, a small group of Scout parents and a Leader managed to dismantle the hut panel by panel and transport it to the new site. The first stage was done!

The new site had to be prepared first as we required a concrete base to stand the hut on when rebuilt.
Start by cutting out the turf, making a frame, laying a lot of hardcore, covering it with sand and flattening it all out:

Then you pour a few lorry loads of on concrete on and wait for it to dry (in September in Britain!)

Once dry re-assemble the hut! Again we are very grateful for the help we received from the Probation Service.

Start with an end wall and add a few side panels:

Add some roof:

Repeat many times, build a solid double door in as you go, add an end wall, corrugated roofing, repair the woodwork and remove and board up the old windows and you have a good shell which needs a bit of wood treatment before the rigours of winter hit:

Finally you have a secure, strong hut once again; and then it gets a coat of Sadolin kindly dontated by Sadolin themselves, Thanks!

Phase 2 is completed and you can look forward to Phase 3 - the inside!

This is how it started! and how it looked May 2003 with the walls insulated, boarded and painted and the roof insulated and partially boarded

An internal wall was erected to make a store at one end of the hut

The Scouts take an active part in the construction of the hut and here the boarding of the roof is being completed prior to painting which completed the first stage of the work on the main hall.

A kitchen and office/quiet room are also being built internally and these pictures show the progress that is being made on these. At the rear of these there will be a cloakroom and toilet.