Yahoo News Former WWII air raid shelter becomes place for all in town beauty spot
A former air raid shelter in one of Cheltenham's popular green spaces has seen a fresh makeover inside and out. The 10th Cheltenham Scout Group, with the help of the community, have successfully renovated the interior of the Pittville Park Scout Hut, transforming it into an accessible hub for all.
Following a survey involving park residents, Friends of Pittville, parents and the All Saints congregation, there was a strong desire for renovations and the opportunity to rent out the space. With funds from Cheltenham Borough Council's Community Repaint Project, the government's Build Back Better fund, the Coronation Grant, National Lottery Community Fund and the Gold Cup 100 Community Grant, this has been four hard years in the making
10th Cheltenham leader Mark Harris. "The building itself is obviously part of Pittville Park and has been here since the Second World War, so that came with its own problems of an old building. "The walls are 14 centimetres thick with steel reinforcement in places but we needed to keep the renovation sympathetic with the park and with the age of the building.
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"We've turned into something that doesn’t just tend to Cheltenham’s scout group but also something the community can use and we're very keen as part of a lot of the grants that we've had to get other groups down here using it and other charities using the space too", Mark adds.
The 10th Cheltenham Scouts, who use the space for meetings, an amateur dramatics group, and mother and baby gatherings among other things, are keen to promote as much usage of the new area as possible. There's still more work to be done, including installing a steel replacement porch, painting murals, and constructing an area to assist individuals with disabilities.
Mark adds: "Scouts in itself is all about bringing people from diverse backgrounds, from all across the community and we're very lucky here where we tend to children situated in quite an affluent part of Cheltenham. This space is about widening it out to the whole of the community, making it available for them. It is also geographically very central in Cheltenham where we've even held a wedding here!"
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