RUMSTER OUTDOOR CENTRE MANAGEMENT GROUP
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2024
I am happy to be able to report that the trickle of progress which began with the relaxation of COVID restrictions in 2021 has continued to grow. This year started well. We were able to secure the final tranche of funding needed to enable us to actually place an order for the building of choice and this was done in March. At that time, we hoped that construction would be carried out on site during July and planning permission was applied for.
Cue gremlins!
It turned out to be less than simple to supply the Planning Department with the information they needed in the correct format and the necessary consultation with other bodies resulted in a requirement for an archaeological survey to be carried out before any work started. Difficulties in arranging for this survey to be carried out and in progressing the planning application in general along with some issues with the building supplier meant that construction was deferred till October. Regrettably, the supplier then dropped another bombshell by announcing that they could not use the contractor normally employed to install the foundation ground screws; it took an age to identify an alternative contractor who, when he came on site, did some tests and announced that the ground was completely unsuitable for ground screws.
We are now in the position that we still have issues to resolve with planning, including arranging the archaeological survey, and the supplier is in the process of designing a foundation. One bright light in all this confusion is that we do not believe that any additional funding will be required and we now expect the building to be on site in Spring 2025.
The planned construction of the camp kitchen, for which funding was available, was delayed so that it did not interfere with the other work which we hoped would be happening on site. Most of the necessary material has been purchased and is on site ready for construction in the spring. We did manage to purchase and build a garden shed on site so we now do have waterproof and lockfast storage on site.
Because we expected contractors to be working on site during the summer, no events were planned this year but contact has been maintained with Haven House Arts with a view to running events on site when the building is available.
Apart from building the shed, little work has been done on site this year. A planned work day did not attract any support but we are again indebted to Tom and Sarah Whelan for cutting the grass on site thereby saving us a huge amount of work.
In conclusion, although there have been frustrating delays, we have made significant progress and have good reason to be confident that we will have a functioning site in the next twelve months.
Finally, as always, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Board over the past twelve months for their support and for all the work they have done and to wish next year’s Board even more hard work and just a bit more success.