The Wick extension plans

Do you know that The Wick has been serving the community of Haydon Wick for nearly 150 years!

Constructed in 1869 as a Wesleyan Chapel it is now used by 1st Swindon Sea Scouts as their home. The Group has continued to grow and now, at record numbers, the time has come to review the building and use for future generations to come.

Just a few years ago The Wick was only used on a Monday (Beavers), Thursday (Cubs) and Friday (Scouts during the winter). Today the group has more than doubled in size and The Wick is now busy every evening and twice on a Friday! Today we have 2 Beaver sections, 2 Cubs sections, a Scout section (which should really be 2 sections) and an Explorer section. Today The Wick is bursting and we simply need more space!

The Exec has recently formed a sub committee to review ideas and plans for The Wick. Many ideas were considered and discussed and today we are pleased to say that we have planning permission to expand and improve our home. The main points will include:

  • A second meeting room to accommodate 20-25 young people
  • New toilets including facilities for the disabled
  • Larger and improved kitchen
  • Bike storage
  • Upstairs leaders meeting room / break out area
  • Safer access to the loft storage area
  • Refresh the current building (re plaster)
  • Update wiring and pipework

If you would like to see the plans click here The Wick extension plans

Following a collaborative approach we have now agreed how the internals will look:

  • We thank the Leaders and those who took part in the parent survey we carried out earlier this year.
  • We have considered how the internal space works for use by the Group as well others if we start to rent the hall for birthday parties / other voluntary organisations
  • The main extension can either be partitioned off or opened up to make a single larger hall
  • The kitchen will include a servery hatch
  • The new store at the front will allow parents to wait ‘inside’ and will probably form the new entrance to The Wick in the long term
  • Two toilets are included, including one which is suitable for use by the disabled.
  • The store in the new extension makes good use of the space under the stairs
  • The fire exit will exit onto the rear (into the park)
  • The stairs to the 1st floor have been designed to save space
  • We will include the ability to secure the 1st floor if we decide to rent the premises out to other groups / private hire
  • The 1st floor in the extension is unchanged apart from the stairs coming out in the ‘middle’

The full planning application can be seen here Swindon Borough Council planning

The project has been split into three main phases. During the construction we will retain access to The Wick so our meetings and activities will continue without any interuption.

  • Phase 1 (foundations)
  • Phase 2 (superstructure)
  • Phases 3+ (fit out)

Obviously the work will cost some money and it is estimated that the overall build will cost around £140,000. We have money to complete phase 1 and start phase 2 and are fund raising and investigating grants which may be available to help with phases 2 and 3.

We are pleased that one of our Scout Leaders Gavin Cox has agreed to be our Project Manager throughout the build. Gavin is being supported in his role by the rest of the team.

Project Manager – Gavin Cox

  • Be part of 1st Swindon Sea Scouts buildings committee for the duration of the project.
  • Be part of the team to agree the project plan and timelines
  • Be responsible for the day to day running of the project
  • Ensure any legal, planning and health & safety requirements are adhered to
  • Agree contracts and scope of work with suppliers
  • Identify and engage with potential donors of building materials / labour
  • Source materials for the project
  • Ensure communication and good relationships are maintained with stake holders (School, Council, Residents, Members of the 1st Swindon Sea Scout Group)

These are photos of The Wick as it is today.

  • The land inside the boundary fence at the rear is where the 2 story extension will go.
  • The public footpath on the side will obviously be retained.
  • The front of the building will visually remain the same.

Project updates

Fund raising

September 2017: Our Group Chairman Jason took part in an IronMan event in Wales. Donations were received from parents and leaders of the Group as well as Jason’s colleagues, friends and family. Jason raised an amazing £2,255 and his employer Zurich matched this with their own donation of £1,500. Thank you Jason and Zurich for your efforts and support.

November 2017: Our Group fireworks at Bowmoor raises £322 towards the building fund.

February 2018: We applied to Haydon Wick Parish Council for £4,000 from their community fund! Carl attended a council meeting to explain all about the project and to reach out to the councillors for their help and support.

April 2018: We have received a cheque from Haydon Wick Parish Council for £2,500 to help towards the foundations. Thank you Haydon Wick Parish Council for your support.

June 2018: We receive £1,393 from BP. Our Beaver Leader Mark was able to raise monies through his companies scheme where he donates time to the Group and in return BP donate money. Thank you Mark and BP.

June 2018. We have applied to the Garfield Weston Foundation for £140,000! For more details about this organisation please use this link https://garfieldweston.org. This year is their 60th anniversary and they are planning to help more charities and organisations than ever before.

August 2018. This is an update from their web site. We have had an extraordinary response with well over 2,000 applications. This means that it is a tough field as a result of being significantly oversubscribed. We are very excited however at the prospect of supporting some great projects across the UK. We will let you know the outcome of your application in early October and will contact you if we require additional information or wish to arrange a visit – we are grateful therefore for your patience in the meantime while the applications are being carefully reviewed and considered by our Trustees. So – watch this space!

September 2018: The Swindon Advertiser ran an article all about the project.

Swindon Advertiser article

Phase 1 – Foundation

July 2017 – Over the summer we cleared the grass and shrubs at the rear of The Wick to mark out the foundations and make sure everything fitted. The only problem we had was an old tree stump which would need to be removed……….

October 2017 – ……..with the help of a local specialist StumpBusters, our stump was quickly busted by owner Nigel who kindly donated his time for the project and in doing so neatly removed the stump for us. http://www.stumpbusters-northwiltshire.co.uk. Thank you Nigel for your support.

Phase 2 – Superstructure

June 2018: Spent some time with Bob Packer, architect to review the internal designs and update. Our thanks to Bob for  donating his time and help in providing our drawings. http://www.118118.com/swindon/architects/1775720-bob-packer.html

Phase 3 – Fitting out

August 2018. Spent time with B&Q design team to look at how the kitchens and toilets will look. We have used their design software to create the 3D images.

3D design images