WORK should start on the long-planned replacement of Hillmorton Scouts’ 50-year-old wooden hut in a matter of weeks.
A flurry of donations, including one this week for £39,500 from The Veolia Environmental Trust, has put the group within just £3,000 of its £165,000 target after a two-year fund-raising campaign.
Audrey Rooney-Ellis, spokeswoman for the 22nd (Hillmorton) Rugby Scouts’ big build campaign, said: “It’s a great amount for us and is all very exciting for us to be so close to our revised target.
“We have to wait until we have all the money in the bank before we can start, but June has been a positive month with a few small grants coming in too so it’s looking hopeful that we will be able to start building work in the summer.
“It will take two to three months from start to finish so we are keeping out fingers crossed and everyone is very excited that it is looking like we will have a nice warm hut for the winter.”
Over the past two years children and parents have washed cars, run car boot sales, packed shopping bags in Tesco, held quiz nights and taken part in sponsored events while over 500 grants applications have been made in their bid to replace their hut on The Kent that began its life as a workman’s shed at Draycote Water in the 1970s.
Back then it was already described as being in an advanced state of disrepair.
The latest events planned included a fashion show at Dunchurch Village Hall organised by the Rugby Floral Society and Wanda Fashions last night (Wednesday) while on Saturday there will be a coffee morning at Rogers Hall on Deerings Road between 10.30am and 12.30pm.
In October we reported how Brownsover scouts moved into their new hut in the grounds of Boughton Leigh Junior School 10 years after beginning fund-raising for what was their first permanent home.
