1st Alton Manor Scout Group was formed in 2006 following the amalgamation of 3rd and 6th Belper. Since then the Group continues to go from strength to strength and now consists and 7 sections including our new formed Squirrel section which starts in September. Across these 7 sections we have over 140 children aged between 4 and 14 years old and over 30 adult volunteers making us the biggest Group in Belper.

Initially the Group were forced to meet in a variety of different venues around the town moving to our current site in 2015 when we purchased the portacabins. It has always been the ambition of the Group to build our own purpose built Scout Headquarters and Community Centre and in 2022 plans were drawn up by local architects green2kdesign and approved by Amber Valley Borough Council.

Work is now underway to turn the plans into a physical and usable building that can be used by our Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts as well as the wider community. Of course the biggest obstacle we face is funding. Whilst there are many grants out there to apply for when you have a physical building, there are few available that will be granted to build the building. Furthermore a DE56 post code is considered by many as an affluent and rules us out of grants from the get go.

Therefore, we have to look to raise funds ourselves and whilst the executive committee continues to look at and apply for fundraising opportunities, we must also look at good old fashioned and traditional fundraising ideas.