Grand opening of 9th Heywood Scout Group headquarters

The 9th Heywood (Pennine) Scout Group held the official opening of their brand-new HQ in Bamford with the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Ali Ahmed and his consort, Councillor Sultan Ali as principal guests. The event was held in front of over 120 guests comprising current and past members and leaders as well as people who have supported the Scout group during their building project.

Richard Baron, the group chairman, said thank you to the many supporters present who had helped financially and practically as well as many other individuals and organisations who were unable to attend the event. Significant funding had come from an application to Viridor Credits, followed by other generous grants from The Foyle Foundation, the Bernard Sunley Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation. The Group’s ‘Buy-a-Brick’ initiative had raised a considerable sum of money prior to the work being started, but as Richard pointed out, fundraising for this purpose had commenced over 25 years ago.

 

 

The local Freemasons were represented by Rochdale district chairman Doug Smith and Richard thanked the East Lancashire Masonic Charity for their contribution in financing the installation of acoustic panels in the main hall. Both Rochdale Round Table and the Rotary Club of Rochdale were also thanked for their generous donations.

On behalf of East Lancashire Masonic Charity, Doug Smith said, “This is a fantastic building, a perfect opportunity for young people to engage with the scout’s movement and other groups. This new centre will significantly impact the local community, scouting, education, and health and well-being of the people of Rochdale.

Further funding had come from Rochdale Council to help equip the new HQ. Richard thanked the local Bamford councillors who had given the group much support, and asked the mayor to thank Rochdale Council for their support and commitment to the town’s young people.

 

 

To mark the occasion the mayor was asked to cut the ribbon held by two of the group’s young Scouts: Dylan Atkinson and Noah Chadwick. Both Dylan and Noah and the other Scouts who attended the evening played a significant role in looking after the invited guests.

The opening event coincided with the Scout Group’s 60th year of providing Scouting in the area. Several of the group’s leaders from the 1960s were in attendance to help celebrate this terrific milestone. Some travelled considerable distances not only from distant parts of the UK, but also from Portugal and Florida, USA.

Pennine District Commissioner, Alan Sharkey, took the opportunity to present long service awards to several of the group’s leaders and commendations to the team responsible for the building project. After the formalities, the evening concluded with some light refreshments and plenty of catching-up with Scouting friends past and present.

The Scout Group are keen for the building to be used by the local community as well as by the Scouts, particularly so during weekdays. Anyone who is interested in hiring the building are asked to enquire via their bookings email address: bookings9thheywood@hotmail.com