Scouts in Chalfont St Peter could close due to flooding

The 1st Chalfont St Peter Group, which is situated on Gravel Hill, has not been able to use its initial site due to high levels of water from storms that hit the village at the start of this year.

The building has not been touched since January, and it is not known when it’ll reopen.

Four alternative venues have been used in the last three/four months for children to participate in their activities, but following the recent public meeting that Buckinghamshire Council organised on April 16, Scout leader, Bill Fisk, told the Free Press that if funding isn’t found, it’ll be ‘the end of the Scouts’.

He said: “The insurers have told us it’s on the verge of being condemned.

Oliver Bentley (left) and Bill Fisk (right) have been with the Scouts in Chalfont St Peter for several years (Image: NQ)

“The payout for equipment and the building would be around £170k and the full rebuild would be about £500k.

“We lease our land from Buckinghamshire Council so that’s their land and our building has been impacted.

“As it’s groundwater, it’s an act of God.

“We’ve been told to have a look at community boards but they don’t have £350k to hand out.

“It won’t work.

“Some of the biggest challenges facing the Scouts is getting kids in.

“If there is a discontinuation in the provision of scouting, it will not start again unless we get a new site but that just doesn’t happen.

Parts of the village have been badly impacted by the floods (Image: NQ)

“Financially, it’s the end of the Scouts.”

The leader also admitted that even if there was a solution to find a permanent but smaller venue, the Scouts would still struggle due to the materials needed and the land they would have to operate.

Mr Fisk’s frustrations were heard by the public when roughly 350 residents attended to share their views on the recent issues – many of which criticised Buckinghamshire Council, the Environmental Agency and Thames Water.

Many of those in attendance revealed stories of sewage entering their homes, along with the lack of help they have received from the necessary authorities.

Water remains outside the Scouts building in Chalfont St Peter (Image: chalfontscouts.org)

He continued: “Even if we move into the smaller halls, we can’t provide what we currently provide because of the materials and the land we have to do it on.

“It’ll be completely different and that’s not something we want to do.

I’m devastated.

It’ll be an unrecoverable situation if we can’t dig deep because outside of a lottery win or a lottery grant, or some help with the chief scout in Bear Grylls, what can we do?”

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We want to help but this isn’t a short-term fix – it’ll take several years to make a difference.

“What we do know is that the winter has been the wettest on record and the water levels were higher than the last big flood in 2014 and as a result of that, groundwater is getting into the system.”