Guiding faces up to challenge with Prestbury community help

Thu 28th January 2010 2.02PM

PRESTBURY’S Rainbows, Brownies and Guides started the new year facing a major challenge after a flood at their Bollin Grove headquarters. The extreme cold caused the water main to burst in the loft, bring down ceilings and flooding the building. Friends of Guiding Secretary, Richard Carsons, said: “It was horrendous. The collapsing ceilings had brought down lights and loft insulation. The kitchen was destroyed and water had flooded throughout the building.

“The biggest problem looks like being the 'sports hall floor' laid in the main hall. Being solid wood, it absorbed the water, expanded and buckled the floor, which will need to be totally replaced. “The insurer's loss assessor has viewed the site and says that it could take two to three months to repair everything - and the actual repairs cannot be started until the building has been dried out by a company specialising in this.” Anne Carsons, Alderley District's Assistant Commissioner and the Brown Owl of Prestbury's two Brownie packs, said: “It was heartbreaking for everyone to see the damage, perhaps more so for those Friends and Leaders who were involved in the massive fund-raising project to build the HQ in 1997. “But, in true Girlguiding spirit, we are rising to the challenge. Guiding in Prestbury will continue during the rebuilding.

All the Rainbow, Brownie and Guide units - and our new Senior Section – have found temporary homes until Easter. “We would like to thank the Village Hall, the Methodist Church, the Village School and the Leisure Centre. They all responded with true community spirit to our urgent need for temporary meeting places.”