Dog Hill Scout Camp By Kevin on 8 October 2019 (updated 1 July 2020) In Featured, Main_Page, News / 0 comments Dog Hill Scout Camp a self-financing Site Raising £38,513.09 spent on developing the site since 2005. 5 Year Plan (Draft) (items in green completed) 3 Month Plan to constitute the Dog Hill Committee as discussed with last year with the leaders of the expedition hike. Re introduce the Permit to Camp form, which has to be sanctioned by the District commissioner and set up the visitors book Repair the mower & strimmer. Remove all scrap from site. (5 tip trips) Fit roof to Porta Cabin so tools & equipment can stay dry. (Wood etc acquired & taken up to site) Half completed, finish October. Acquire quote for putting in water pipe from stream. ( the £14.000,00 quoted a few years back to get water from the road, too expensive Would need re quoting and would need external support as would stream and purifying. As like the past 17 years, I will continue to take barrels of water to the site. Maintain mowing & strimming programme. Weed killing Host the expedition hike. Re-Launch as a Bunkhouse/Activity centre not a camp site. (people can camp but aim camping at scouts-explorers-network and day activities at Beavers & Cubs) DBS all current Volunteers. (half done) New treasurer to change electric tariff. Fence paint the picnic tables Continue to develop the Archery Range & 5 a side football field. Drop the small fire circle to 2’. And fire cement it. Surplus rocks to go in dry stone wall in car park, ashes to be spread amongst trees, Metal to be put in scrap bag. Remove the seating rocks from around fire. Take up carpet tiles in Bunkhouse & replace with new. Restack the wood pile. Repair cargo net. (Vandalised) Replace Kitchen Light. Zip Line ( half completed) Landing platforms to be built out of donated decking. Ground to be levelled off and Donated crash mats to be laid. Lay concrete on the road. 10 yards done. Pick up donated Cement Mixer from clitherow. Transport to site 70 miles. Replace Bunkhouse Lights with donated LED. 6 Month Plan Put on a Series of Activities Aimed at Re-Popularising the Site that are low cost and low financial risk but provide maximum enjoyment for the young members. There are many badge ideas that can be done in our outdoor space at dog hill. Our young members love the space we have so once the badgework is out of the way they can play while the leaders relax! Continue the whippet planting by cubs & scouts. 1a. DIY Badge – Birdboxes – we can use the reclaimed wood we get donated to create the rspb template birdbox. 1b. Bushcraft. many options available 1c. Dam building. down in the bottom of the valley 1d. Hammocking – very popular at the moment and the wooded area is ideal 1e Continue the whippet planting by cubs & scouts. 1f. Paint Bunkhouse door. 1g. Erect the 2nd Trespass sign. 1h. Put up dummy CCTV cameras. Water, Its imperative to have clean water on site and we should Aim to have this functional for the start of the 2020 camping season. Sanitation. Septic needs fixing or replacing Re-marketing Reputation. The historical bad PR from District has to stop many of the new leaders only opinion of dog hill is what they have heard from old leaders based on their worst experiences over the last 100 years. Get the newer leaders on site in a positive situation. Encourage Oldham District groups to commit to at least 1 camp a year to provide the funds to develop the site. Surround compound with Reed fencing and plant Ivy. Contact District approved past Campers and hirers to secure bookings for 2020. this will give us a safe budget to work with Review Pricing – Scouting is exceptionally cheap compared with the other activities our young people have access to. Introduce discounts for hard up groups. Focus maintenance on the core of the site, only undertaking new projects when the labour is in place. Reach out to external organisations to get work done, EG Community Payback, Princes Trust, Groundwork ETC Year 1 (2020) Put on badges above – 2 groups have already agreed to try – we will use these as tests and once we have done it once and got some pics it should be easier to market it to district/county and beyond. Market the site as a bunkhouse activity centre using historical bookers. Keep on top of existing Maintenance ensuring we focus on the core. Get a grant to replace internals of toilet block. Construct a semi permanent large sheltered area to weatherproof the bookings Build links with the owners of brushes clough reservoir with a view to have canoeing. We had permission from NWWA. Lay 2 concrete tracks on road to carpark. Year 2-5 (2021-25) Build on bookings year on year by maintaining links with successful bookings Aiming to generate repeat bookings for the same activity every 2 years as the kids in the beavers and cubs sections will all be new. Re-visit pricing annually ensuring our income covers our expenditure with a view to re-invest every penny into the site Switch to renewable energy – make a big deal of it with the young members and Local press and if we switch power to solar we would be entirely self sufficient for water and energy with only servicing costs to consider. Create more Camping areas In 2024 the Dog Hill Committee should review the progress made since 2019 with a view to making a recommendation to the district exec on its own future.development Beyond 2025 Look to increase the Land holding making strategic land purchases to improve the value of the site, this could incorporate existing structures to improve our building portfolio. Build a Barn – A Large “Barn/HayLoft” type construction should get planning permission and we could put all the mowers, tractors and Activity equipment inside alongside a climbing wall – high ropes loft, Get a lottery grant to replace the old bunkhouse with a bigger more modern structure.