Our District Centre

Since approximately 1970, Chester and District Scouts have owned freehold property at 58 Weston Grove, Upton. The site is home to our District Centre.

The Centre is in a state of disrepair and significant works are required to repair and maintain it. For the reasons explained below, the trustees feel that the best course of action is to demolish and rebuild the building at Weston Grove.

Our current facilities – key points:

The District Centre is a wooden mobile classroom constructed approximately 50-60 years ago with brick cladding added in 1998. There are significant issues with the existing building. Primarily:
– The roof is at end of its useful life and needs to be replaced.
– The kitchen is at end of its useful life and needs to be replaced.
– A lack of suitable storage for equipment (from trailers to GPS trackers and tents).
– The building is not very welcoming or accessible.

The estimated cost of refurbishing the existing building is £112,000 following advice from a surveyor. Additional works such as climbing wall storage, making the site wheelchair accessible, and improving storage facilities, would come at an additional cost.

We currently lease a second site, which is used for storage, from Cheshire West and Chester Council for a peppercorn rent.

Why are we rebuilding now instead of refurbishing?

Our current building was designed to last 10 to 20 years from when it was first built and our trustees feel that refurbishing the existing building is not a prudent use of our funds, and the building is now at the end of its useful life.

We have agreed to surrender the lease on our storage unit in early 2026 and therefore need additional storage at the District Centre.

We want to take the opportunity to prepare for the future by designing a building to suit our needs.

Features of the new build

Although we have some thoughts about what the new building might include and what we should prioritise, we feel it is important for our members to share their opinions. Please take five minutes to complete this short survey and share it with others.

You can download a pdf version of the above information here.