Dear All, 

 

As you may know, we are in negotiations with our landlord, Banstead Downs Golf Club, to extend our lease at Scout Ridge. The Group's current lease expires on Christmas Day. In common with other Scout groups and similar organisations, we pay a very low rent which enables us to use our funds for the benefit of the children. 

 

The Golf Club would like to increase our rent from £50 per year to nearly £40,000. As you can imagine, that is far beyond the resources of our Group or any similar organisation. Negotiations continue and we still hope to agree a new deal but time is short. 

 

We do have some legal protections and may have to being legal proceedings if agreement cannot be reached. Our former Group Scout Leader, Colin Sutherland, was the driving force behind building our new HQ at Scout Ridge in the 1990s and has started a petition to raise awareness of our situation. I would urge you all to sign and to share with family, friends and colleagues to let them know of our plight and to add their voice to a call for a lease that supports the young people of Banstead and Nork. 

 

This is very important, not just for your children but for those that will follow them into 3rd Banstead in the coming decades. The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/save-scout-ridge Many thanks for your continued support. 

 

James Crouch Chairman, 

Trustee Board, 

 

3rd Banstead