Design Brief

for
1st Woodmancote Scout Group
Scout Hall

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 3

2 SCOUTING IN WOODMANCOTE AND CLEEVE .................................................. 3

3 FREQUENCY OF USE .......................................................................................... 4

3.1 Hedgehogs.................................................................................................... 4

4 COSTS................................................................................................................... 4

5 EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................... 5

5.1 Building ......................................................................................................... 5
5.2 Car Parking ................................................................................................... 5
5.3 Other Areas................................................................................................... 5

6 INTERNAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................ 6

6.1 Entrance Area ............................................................................................... 6
6.2 Leaders Area ................................................................................................ 6
6.3 Toilets ........................................................................................................... 6
6.4 Section Storage............................................................................................. 7
6.5 Kitchen .......................................................................................................... 7
6.6 Camping Equipment Store ............................................................................ 8
6.7 Main Hall ....................................................................................................... 8
6.8 Second Hall ................................................................................................... 9
6.9 Additional Breakout Room ............................................................................. 9
6.10 Heating ......................................................................................................... 9

7 ACCESS REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................... 9

8 SOME EXAMPLES ...............................................................................................11

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1 INTRODUCTION
(1) Scouting has been in the villages of Bishops Cleeve and Woodmancote for 100
years. 1st Woodmancote Scout Group as we know it today has been in existence
since the 1960s, and in the 2000s it consumed the smaller Bishops Cleeve Scout
Group.

(2) This design brief was originally written for the Parish Council and Developers in
2009 and has been updated in 2020 to capture the top level requirements for a
hall

2 SCOUTING IN WOODMANCOTE AND CLEEVE

(3) 1st Woodmancote Scout Group currently has 10 mixed gender sections meeting
each week, covering the ages 6 – 14. There is also a large Explorer Scout
Section catering for 14 to 18 year olds. This is formally not part of Woodmancote
Scout Group, but instead reports directly to the Tewkesbury Scout District. We
are looking for a hall that can cater for these existing sections and possible new
sections.

(4) Therefore there are 11 sections to cater for. We meet every night of the week, so
most evenings multiple sections meet, and ideally a building with room for 2 halls
is required.

(5) The days we meet are decided by the leaders for each section. As volunteers, the
meeting night has to suit the leader team.

(6) We have:

(7) 3 Beaver Colonies – for ages 6 to 8. Each colony has 28 children and generally
meet between 5 – 6.30

(8) 4 Cub Packs – for ages 8 to 10.5 – Each pack has an average 28 children and
normally meet 6.30 – 8pm

(9) 3 Scout Packs – for ages 10.5 to 14 – Each troop has about 28 children and
normally meets 7 – 9pm

(10) 1 Explorer Unit – for ages 14 to 18 – with 26 young adults. It normally meets 7 –
9pm.

(11) We still have a long waiting list of nearly 100 children wanting to join us.

(12) The current timetable is shown in the next section.

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3 FREQUENCY OF USE

5 5.30 6 6.30 7 7.30 8 8.30 9

Monday Beavers
Monday Cubs
Tuesday Beavers
Tuesday Cubs
Explorers
Wednesday Cubs
Thursday Beavers
Thursday Scouts
Friday Scouts 1
Friday Scout 2
(13) As you can see from the timetable above we have sections overlapping, so any
meeting place would ideally have two separate halls.

(14) Add to this use occasional weekend activities and evening adult training sessions.

(15) Our use of a venue can be summarised as every day from 5pm. The hall would
be available during the day for other users.

3.1 HEDGEHOGS

(16) Before the Covid Pandemic, the Scout Association were running trials on offering
Scouting to children aged between 4 to 5 years. This new section, called
Hedgehogs, is run with the involvement and support of the parents. These trials,
which ran for a year, were extremely successful, and showed that Scouting was
able to improve the outcomes for children involved while supporting the families
involved.

(17) This new section has currently been put on hold during the pandemic, but we
hope to launch this new section and type of Scouting in the near future.

(18) With the size of our current waiting list we have enough young people to start
multiple Hedgehog “Nests”, as ever it will be the availability of a venue and
suitable adult volunteers that will delay this.

(19) Due to the age in Hedgehogs, meetings would be during the day.

4 COSTS
(20) It is vital that Scouting is accessible by all. We currently charge £30 per term (£90
per year) and we have parents that struggle to pay this. £55 of this income is sent
to Scout HQ to pay for insurances etc, leaving us with £35 per child per year to
pay for badges, activity equipment and of course Rent.

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(21) We are able to offer a bursary for Parents who are struggling to pay their
subscriptions or to attend our annual camps.

(22) We meet in various venues around Woodmancote and Cleeve and currently pay
an average of £15 per section meeting ie roughly £7.50 per hour.

(23) Although we are willing to pay more for a home for the group, we must ensure
that we are still able to offer Scouting for all.

(24) We have over £15,000 fund raised specifically to help kit out any hall we use.

5 EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS

5.1 BUILDING

(25) The exterior of the building needs to be child safe in all areas

(26) The building needs to be of an intrinsically secure design.

(27) Windows, where fitted, need to use toughened glass to be as safe as possible
when they do break and to be as vandal proof as possible.

(28) The main entrance needs to allow Wheelchair access.

(29) The entrance to the camp equipment store (see below) needs to be wide enough
to allow large items to enter. Ideally the camp store should have direct access to
the outside of the building, to allow easy loading of vehicles.

(30) It should not be possible to gain access to the roof without the use of ladder or
other climbing aid.

(31) Fire exits can open on any side of the building.

(32) Utility access (electric meters etc) needs to be available without the need to enter
the building.

5.2 CAR PARKING

(33) On any section evening we are likely to need parking for 4 leaders cars.

(34) Parents of younger sections will normally want to park their car and come into the
building with their child. A typical section has 25+ children, if 50% drive then up to
12 cars will be parked on our site or nearby for a short time at the start and end of
the session.

5.3 OTHER AREAS

(35) The entire site must be securely fenced with a lockable gate. This ensures that
children at the meetings are “safe” when outside, and when we are not on site we
can control parking and dumping on the land.

(36) Scouting is all about the Great Outdoors, as many meetings as possible are held
outside.

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(37) An outside grassed area for activities is essential. This allows outdoor running
games, ball games, tent erection, pioneering and camp training.

(38) An area designated for small fires (6 at a time, with safe space between them), a
small wood store and a wild area would also be ideal. This is something the Scout
Group can set up if they are a hall user.

(39) A Tarmacked area is useful in the winter months, from experience, the halls car
park can be coned off and used for activities once parent cars have left.

(40) There should be outdoor lighting fitted for both security and to allow activities to
continue outside in the dark.

6 INTERNAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 ENTRANCE AREA

(41) There should be a small lobby for parents and visitors to congregate. This area
should have space for small notice boards.

(42) There needs to be a coat hanging area for up to 30 children.

(43) The entrance door needs to be lockable from both the outside and inside (for
sleepovers).

6.2 LEADERS AREA

(44) There should be a leaders office.

(45) This office should be separately lockable.

(46) This office should have room for a desk, a desk chair and a further seating
positions.

(47) The office would have space for a filing cabinet and cupboard.

(48) The office should be fitted with a broadband connection, to allow siting of a PC.

(49) Throughout the building, child safe guarding is paramount. We would prefer
offices or breakout rooms to have 1/2 glass doors / windows, such that people in
the office can be seen, and people in the office can see out, to check who enters
and leaves the building.

6.3 TOILETS

(50) There needs to be three toilets:

• Boys – 2 toilet bowl, 2 urinal, 2 sink.

• Girls – 2 toilets, 2 sink.

• Disabled / Adult – 1 toilet, 1 sink.

(51) A small shower room would be useful for occasional use.

(52) The toilets should be lockable.

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(53) Flooring should be waterproof lino.

(54) Walls should be tiled around the sinks, showers and toilets.

(55) A small storage area or cupboard should be available for mop, bucket and cleaner
storage in one of the toilets. This should be lockable.

(56) Steam extraction for the shower may be required

6.4 SECTION STORAGE

(57) Each section routinely needs storage to run their weekly activities. This varies
with each section and with the different age groups but would typically include
such things as pencils, papers, craft materials, books, scissors, soft balls, ropes,
practice first aid equipment, maps, compasses, bats, hockey sticks etc.

(58) The items stored tend to grow to fill the space provided, but as an example we
currently have 4 off 3’ wide metal cupboards fitted with shelves, a small 8’ x 8’
square shed with shelving and a wheeled cupboard system which is 6’ x 2’ x 3’.
One of our current venues has no storage and so adults using this venue store all
activity equipment at home / in cars and bring it to every meeting.

(59) From experience this storage should not be in any hall area, but should be in a
separate lockable area.

(60) A designated store area for each type of section would be the minimum. Ie one
for Beavers, one for Cubs, one for Scouts, one for Explorers.

(61) This section store should be close to the hall.

6.5 KITCHEN

(62) The ability for us to prepare the occasional hot meal or hot drinks is required. If
we have a sleepover then breakfast may be prepared.

(63) We also teach Children how to prepare and cook meals as part of their badges.

(64) To allow this there is a need for a kitchen. It does not need to be a commercial
standard but similar to a typical small family sized kitchen. Fitted with work tops
and cupboards allowing for:

• Electric Cooker
• Dish Washer
• Double sink
• Instant Water heater
• Kettle
• Microwave.
• Extraction will be required.
• Hot and cold water.
• Depending on its location a serving hatch to the main hall would
be useful
• Multiple power sockets along the kitchen top are required.

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6.6 CAMPING EQUIPMENT STORE

(65) We currently store all of our camping and outdoor equipment in a 40’ ISO
Container, with shelving. This store is full and we are in the process of raising
money for a second container.

(66) Although it would be excellent to have this amount of storage as part of a new
hall, the group are happy to continue using these ISO containers. We pay rent on
their current location, if we were able to move them to the grounds of the hall this
would allow us easier access to the equipment and reduce our rent.

(67) For completeness we have included the original requirements below for this
camping store.

(68) Our camping store needs to have shelving

(69) The store needs to (ideally) have high ceiling, to allow for tents to be hung to dry.

(70) The store needs a small room for a workbench.

(71) A small sink and running water for cleaning.

(72) Secure storage for chemicals (weed killer), fuel (small amounts of petrol)

(73) Secure storage for Gas Cylinders – This store should be a cage outside and away
from the main building?

(74) A lawn mower will be stored here to allow for upkeep of the adjacent land.

(75) The store does not require windows

6.7 MAIN HALL

(76) The main hall should be a minimum of 18 metres x 10 metres

(77) The main hall should have space for large notice boards.

(78) The height of the hall should be at least 6.5metres to allow the hall to be used for
sports, badminton etc.

(79) Power sockets fitted around hall.

(80) Chairs and tables should have a separate store supplied for this.

(81) Fluorescent lighting should be used, with protective covers to stop breakages.

(82) Any fixtures or fittings must be tough enough to withstand heavy use, soft ball
throwing etc.

(83) Windows must be protected against ball games on the inside – ie toughened, bars
etc.

(84) The floor ideally would be an “impact energy absorbing floor” to BS7044

(85) The hall must have some acoustic damping to reduce the noise when a large
number of people are in the hall

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6.8 SECOND HALL

(86) A second smaller hall should be available. This needs to be big enough to house
a section meeting with 30 people.

(87) This hall should be 10m x 10m at a minimum.

(88) Power sockets fitted around hall.

(89) Chairs and tables held in a separate store supplied for this.

(90) Fluorescent lighting should be used, with protective covers to stop breakages.

(91) Any fixtures or fittings must be tough enough to withstand heavy use, soft ball
throwing etc.

(92) Windows must be protected against ball games on the inside – ie toughened, bars
etc.

(93) The floor should be an “impact energy absorbing floor” to BS7044

6.9 ADDITIONAL BREAKOUT ROOM

(94) There are often times when a small meeting room is required, this might be for
taking a small group of children off for an activity, or when a small meeting of
adults is required. A separate small Breakout room is required for this.

(95) This meeting room should be no smaller than 4 metre x 4 metres. It should have
its own lighting and heating.

(96) It will have a large table and 10 chairs

6.10 HEATING

(97) A heating system that is economical for this type of use is required, fast to heat up
when required.

7 ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
(98) Scouting is an Outdoor movement. All sections try to be outside as much as
possible, whether that’s just outside next to a hall or going for a hike around the
area.

(99) Our program is normally planned many weeks in advance but of course are
always weather dependent.

(100) The venues that we use need to allow us the freedom to be outside as much as
possible.

(101) This normally means that we issue our adults with keys to lock and unlock the
venue, such that we can go outside while still leaving the venue secure. We have
named leaders with keys issued for Woodmancote Village Hall and for
Woodmancote Primary School. They are also able to set alarms.

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(102) A Venue where we wait for a caretaker to give us access and we then can not
secure the venue ourselves, does not give us the flexibility that our current
venues do.

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8 SOME EXAMPLES

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