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Scouts £50k out of pocket after company goes bust

Andrew Turnerin Belton
News imageAndrew Turner/BBC Scout leaders Peter and John Clarke sit on toilets which are situated side-by-side, but have no dividing partitions or doors. The walls are painted yellow, and there is bare wood visible on a door post.Andrew Turner/BBC
Peter and John Clarke say the scout hall has toilets without cubicle dividers, meaning only one child at a time can use them

A Scout group says it has been left with incomplete repairs and a £50,000 shortfall after a building company went into liquidation.

1st Belton Scouts, based near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, had been awarded a government grant to extend and double the size of the premises.

But Scouts leader Peter Clarke said he could have "absolutely cried" when he realised the firm had "left with £50,000 of work to do".

Mr Clarke said the group could not reveal the identity of the building company for contractual reasons, meaning the BBC has been unable to make an approach for comment.

The building had been awarded more than £292,000 through the government's Youth Investment Fund for the works.

Mr Clarke, who took over from his father John as leader of the 1st Belton Cubs and Scouts, said the young people had been "let down".

"We're Scouts; our motto is 'be prepared' so we've put lots of different measures in place, lots of different risk assessments updated and there are places where the young people can't go and they know that," he explained.

"We have a responsibility and a want to be able to give our young people the programme they deserve and we're not able to do that."

News imageAndrew Turner/BBC Belton Scout Hut is effectively two buildings, adjoined. A newly-clad extension with flat roof is nearest the lens, with a protruding doorway. The original part is concrete panels, with upper-light windows. Earth and grass are visible in the foreground, with trees behind.Andrew Turner/BBC
News imageAndrew Turner/BBC A room, finished in bare blockwork, is filled with plaster board, insulation, doors and a step ladder, with buckets of debris left.Andrew Turner/BBC
The extension has doubled the space for the Belton Scouts group, but the incomplete work means some areas are off-limits for safety reasons
The Scouts group says many building materials, such as plasterboard, doors and insulation have been left on site

Conditions of the grant means the project needs to be completed by the end of 2025, and the group has set up a crowd funding appeal to raise the shortfall for materials and labour.

Mr Clarke said about £45,000 in materials was needed, including damp-proof membrane packs for disabled toilets, showers and hot water boilers; and for plasterboard.

About £25,000 was "probably" needed on top of that for someone to complete the work.

He said people locally and "further afield" had offered to help.

"There's some great people out there and I've no doubt with people-power, and funds, we will get this over the line."

News imageAndrew Turner/BBC Peter Clarke has a shaved head and close cropped beard and moustache. He is wearing glasses, and is wearing a yellow teeshirt with a green trim collar, and a blue cardigan over. He is standing outside the Belton Scout Hut extension, which is incomplete in build.Andrew Turner/BBC
Peter Clarke said he "could have cried" when he was told the building firm was in liquidation

The Youth Investment Fund is run by the charitable organisation Social Investment Business - on behalf of the government - which supports charities and social enterprises.

A spokesman for the organisation said: "We are keenly aware of the situation with the contractor and have been in frequent contact with the grantee, 1st Belton, to offer our support and practical advice.

"Our team will continue with that support in the coming days and weeks."

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