The Ice House – 6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts

Update Aug 2022 – New Roof, Bridge and Staircase!

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 17:19:01 +0000

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts would like to announce that we have secured funding to replace the Ice House roof, external staircase and access bridge from Jacob’s ladder. This work is possible because of the generosity of Sports England and donations from Cllr Karen Constantine, The Roger De Haan Trust and everyone that donated to our Go Fund Me page. Our leaders have also worked hard to raise money at events like the Ellington Park Summer Fair. Thanks also to Structural Engineer Peter Thomason and Architect Ian Barber, who has worked hard to support us to this stage. The new roof is very exciting because it means we will have a water-tight building with no gaping holes. We have been able to make temporary repairs to stop water ingress, but having a new roof will ensure no further damage occurs to the building. It also means we will soon be able to start using the upper part of the building, although there is still a lot that needs doing before that can happen. Work on the Roof will begin in early October, and AU Roofing he been contracted to undertake this work. As for the staircase and bridge…… Once the staircase and bridge are replaced, we can access the upper floor safely, allowing building materials to be delivered and volunteers to get stuck in and start transforming the space. As you can see from the picture above, our existing staircase isn’t usable, not even for Scouts! S & A Steel Services Ltd will be working hard throughout October and November, making the staircase and bridge, which will be in before December and the festive season begins. We will bring in the New Year celebrating our wins and look forward to decorating the stairs and bridge with fairy lights! So what’s next? Several small stages will happen alongside each other for the next few months. The floor…… W G Burbridge building suppliers have generously donated 15 sheets of tongue and groove OSB board to help us lay a level floor. This is an excellent start to getting the flooring up to scratch in the upper kitchen and main hall. Our volunteers will be working hard over the Bank Holiday weekend to clear the debris and get this flooring laid; think of them while you are sipping Pimms in your garden Access for all…… At the same time, we are working with several funders to discuss accessibility; to install a lift and toilets. We want to ensure everyone in our community can use the building, so the design work for this stage is already underway. We will update you as soon as we have the funding confirmed. However, so far, we have squirrelled away donations from Tesco Manston Bookcase charity, The East Kent branch of the Submariners Association, Charity Army v Navy Veterans Cricket Match, Tall Buildings Fire Safety Network, Arther’s penny jars, ex-scouts of 6th Ramsgate and donations from parents and grandparents of our current Scouts. Thank you to everyone who has donated; it makes it possible for us to match fund each stage of the project so we can realise our dream. That’s all for now folks, but we’ll be back with more reports on our renovation adventures. We continue to fundraise towards our renovations, and donations can be made via the PayPal button on our website or directly to the Group.

Update April 2022 – floorboards from Wickes

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 17:17:57 +0000

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Wickes Westwood Cross who generously donated materials towards our Ice House project. They recently delivered flooring materials that have allowed us to repair part of the damaged floor. These repairs are the first of many and have made it safe for us to access the upper floor which will allow further repairs to be made. As you can see from the photo’s we have a long way to go but every step counts and for us this was a huge step towards our goals.

Exciting Update! Our Planning Application Has Now Been Submitted!

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 18:16:03 +0000

Click the link below to view a copy of our proposed plans for the icehouse.

Icehouse Update – January 2022

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 18:58:13 +0000

It has been a while since we updated on our progress with the Ice House. We have been busy organising safe access to the top floor to facilitate accurate measurements to inform the architectural plans. To allow safe access, we had the asbestos debris and guana removed. We have replaced the guttering and put in temporary water management to help keep the building as dry as possible until the roof can be replaced.

Alongside all this hard work, we have continued to develop the proposed building renovation plans and our funding applications. The proposed works will provide a vibrant centre for supporting our Group and other youth and community organisations.

We intend to respect the historic nature of the Ice House and the surrounding buildings. We have worked with local architects Tracey and David Gullick with Martin Kinzler’s support to develop plans that community consultations have informed.

The Ice House consists of three external walls and two internal walls. Externally, we propose cleaning and repairing the existing brickwork and returning it to its original unpainted state. We propose to move existing window/door openings and add windows to make the internal spaces bright and accessible.

The timber at the first-floor level has rotted due to water ingress. A significant amount of repair is needed to the rotten timber floor, and some of the existing timbers will likely need to be replaced.

The proposal is to replace the fire escape staircase on the west side of the building, and the bridge from Jacobs ladder on the east side of the building, remove and replace the existing asbestos roof.

The bulk of the downstairs space will be remodelled to provide high-quality multi-purpose spaces, high standard toilets, and access facilities finished to a high standard. The rest of the downstairs will be renovated to provide changing facilities, including accessible toilets and showers for after water activities. The top floor will be renovated and used as the Scout headquarters; the majority of the renovations at this level focused on replacing the roof and accessibility.

We have spent the last few years developing plans and talking to funders. We hope the plans will be approved in the coming months and the renovation works will start later this year.

We continue to fundraise towards our renovations, and donations can be made via the PayPal button on our website or directly to the Group.

Icehouse Community Asset Transfer

Edward Morris — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 21:09:38 +0000

6^th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts group applied to Thanet District Council to take over the Ice House building in Ramsgate Harbour, in its entirety, under a Community Asset Transfer and was successful. Our aim is that through the sympathetic and careful redevelopment of the Ice House, it will become a vibrant centre for supporting our Group and other youth and community organisations. Whilst we understand the significant undertaking that this project involves, we intend to respect the historic nature of the ice house and the surrounding buildings. We are looking to hear from people who have historic photographs of the Ice House or stories about the Ice House. Perhaps people who have worked there or had parents, grandparents or great-grandparents who worked there. We are collecting information to help inform us during our planning phase and gather together the building’s history. We are also interested in hearing from people who might be interested in using the Ice House for their community activities once renovated. If you have any photographs or stories or would like to show interest in using the Ice House, then please contact the Group Scout Leader, Shirley Appleby gsl@6thramsgate Sea Scouts.org.uk

Stage 5 & 6 – Bye bye weeds, hello shipping container!

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 14:02:41 +0000

Hello all! Given that a little bit has happened since last time, we thought it’d be a good idea to combine Stage 5 & 6 into one blog post, so you can read them both at the same time.

Before we begin, it’s a good idea to have a look back over the other blog posts, so you know what kind of stage we were at with the Ice House. (If you want the link to the page, you can find it here).

Stage 5 – Bye bye weeds:

Today the weeds from outside the Ice House were trimmed back/removed, allowing for less risk of tripping and making it feel much cleaner and tidier. There were quite a few, and when it came to carrying heavy items to and from the church, there was a chance you could trip, but now that’s no longer an issue!

Stage 6 – The shipping container arrives:

Today, the shipping container arrived. We’ll be using the container for multiple reasons, the main one being that we want somewhere watertight to protect our equipment while we renovate the Ice House.

Potentially, depending on the need, we always have the option of storing kayaks/canoes within it too, to free up space in the boatshed while we work on fixing up other boats (A project that’s been going on for quite some time!).

In the photos below, you’ll see the shipping container being lifted from the delivery vehicle, and onto the road next to the Ice House.

Stage 4 – Kitchen clean up

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 13:57:17 +0000

Hello again! Today, we focused on cleaning up the kitchen.

(As usual, if you haven’t seen the previous blog posts we’d recommend having a look, as it provides more info about what’s going on, and what’s going where. If you want to have a look, you can find them here.)

In the photos below, you’ll see the pictures of the kitchen before it was tidied up. It is around the same size as the kitchen in the Sailor’s church where our Headquarters used to be, but this time we’ll have access to hot water which means we don’t have to boil a kettle each time we want to use some!

The bonus to the positioning of the kitchen means if we need to carry warm water to and from the boatshed, we don’t have to walk far at-all, (which means less water spillages on the carpet 🎉). And, the most fantastic thing is we now have an outside cold water tap for connecting a hose so we can wash off our boats. This is very exciting news for 6th Ramsgate as we have managed without one for years!

There isn’t much more to look at in this post, the room was cleaned up, and now we’re ready for when we move out of the church, and into the Icehouse! 🥳

Stick around for the next post, where we’ll reveal our next move.

YIS

Hawkeye and Dizzy

Stage 3 – The walls get a fresh coat of paint

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 13:52:16 +0000

Welcome back! Glad to see you’ve not got too bored of us rambling on.

If you haven’t seen any of our previous posts, you should definitely have a look at them. (You can find them here)

Today, we painted the main room that’ll be used by the group whilst the rest of the building is being worked on. Adding the paint definitely added some neatness to the previously dusty looking walls, and made it look lovely and clean.

In one of the photos, you’ll see a slight recess in the wall with some shelving and bags by it. That’s where the leaders’ desk will be located. To the left of that, we’ll have the quarter deck. This room will be used for the majority of indoor meetings, whilst the other rooms will be used for storage – allowing for more space for games!

As always, stay tuned for the next blog post, where we’ll update you on the next piece of the giant puzzle!

YIS

Hawkeye and Dizzy

A note from the Group Scout Leader:

Thank you to our leaders and volunteers who worked extremely hard on cleaning, prepping and painting the walls. As the young leaders have said, a fresh coat of paint has made all the difference ,and it feels like we are starting to get somewhere.

Stage 2 The wall comes tumbing down🎶

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Sat, 12 Sep 2020 12:58:02 +0000

Hello all,

Progressing from last week, we’re now onto stage 2 of the icehouse. (If you haven’t seen the first blog post, you should definitely take a look)

In the photos below you’ll see some of the interior of the icehouse and the process of taking down the wall that used to separate two rooms.

The plan for this area is to use it as our main hall whilst the rest of the icehouse is being fixed up and given a new lease of life.

You might also see some dogs (bonus!) in one of the photos as well.

Stage One : THE BEGINNING

6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scouts — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:51:59 +0000

We start our journey with cleaning up of what’s left. Below you will see several photos of the rubbish that was left by the previous owners of the Ice House.

In two of the photos, you can see some of the space that’ll be used by the group while we’re repairing the rest of the Ice House.

Look forward to the next couple of weeks where we’ll show you more of the progress that’s happening with the Ice House.

Yours In Scouting

Hawkeye and Dizzy.