"You have reached your destination"

So this is it - Aquativity is now open.  This blog, charting the Road To Aquativity, has served its purpose of keeping interested parties informed of progress towards a functioning Aquativity Centre.  This is the last blog post in the series; I hope you have found it useful and interesting.  Please also take some time to look back through the history both here on the blog and in the newly posted picture gallery celebrating our opening on the Sea Scouts website.

Dressing the building for opening day

In this last entry, I'll sum up what Aquativity is all about, highlight some of the key milestones along the way to getting here, and look to the future of this exciting project.

Take a look at the top of the Aquativity Blog hosting page and you'll read:
THE AQUATIVITY PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH AN INLAND BOATING FACILITY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND DISABLED PEOPLE AT TESTWOOD LAKES IN TOTTON, HAMPSHIRE. IT IS RUN BY 4TH NEW FOREST NORTH (ELING) SEA SCOUTS...

It really is as simple as that.  Eling Sea Scouts needed a new HQ for Scouting and boating.  The area between the New Forest to the West and Southampton to the East has lots of tidal boating areas, but was very short of novice-safe inland waters to host youth and disability sailing, kayaking and rowing.  Around 10 years ago, Testwood Lakes was being converted from a working gravel pit to a wildlife reserve and needed someone to manage the recreational boating side of its future.  One short conversation later and the Aquativity project was born.  Eling Sea Scouts would come in alongside Southern Water as owners of the site, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as managers of the wildlife reserve, and New Forest District Council as custodians of the site's community objectives.  Our role was to establish a facility for young people and disabled people of the local area to learn and develop boating skills using the main Testwood Lake.  As part of that role, the Sea Scouts would use the new facility as their headquarters, enabling them to move out of their old hut that has seen much better days.

So why has it taken 10 years from the first conversation to the grand opening 2 days ago?  Well, a few reasons:

• Funding (a new community facility like this needs more investment than a voluntary organisation can readily lay its hands on)
• Red tape (some of it important and necessary, some of it perhaps less so)
• The necessary hard work of planning, designing, agreeing and delivering what is a pretty complex project

Funding has come from many sources, some of it in much needed rapid bursts at the times when the project needed an injection to get over a major hurdle, some of it through the long process of raising a little at a time through many events, competitions and all manner of activities.  To put an accurate figure on the total cost is not trivial, as so many aspects of the project overlap with the Sea Scouts' day-to-day Scouting and boating activities, and especially because so much of the work contributed to the project has been voluntary.  The actual financial spend on the project to date is of the order of £400,000, but when you add in the amount of time and effort contributed for free by so many people, the total equivalent cost of what has been achieved is much higher.  All I can say at this point is a massive thank you to everyone who has helped in any way - donations of time, cash, materials, services...  Without all of those donations, this project would not have been delivered.

There have been many points along the way at which we have needed to negotiate and agree next steps towards the goal, with many different bodies.  Some of these have been exciting idea-generating discussions resulting in great leaps forward;

• the initial design of the building,
• agreement between the primary user groups of some of the finer details of how the building needs to work,
• discussing with sponsors how best to balance the need for an injection of cash with continued buy-in and involvement of the project team and its supporters and users,
• choosing some of the materials to enhance the look of the centre, and
• agreeing the specification of the boating fleet to meet the diverse needs of those using the facility.

Other discussions have simply been frustrating.  Without dwelling on any of them as they all got resolved in the end, some of the issues that stick in the mind are:

Keep smiling

• wasting months on a professional project manager who offered his services then completely failed to deliver and we've never heard from him since,
• taking a full year to go from having approved planning permission and a detailed design that meets the needs of the users, to getting building regulations approval to proceed,
• spending many hours in meetings with certain bodies who made a very good show of support only to disappear from the scene and not complete the actions they committed to, or in some cases fail to disappear from the scene when we wanted them to and put objections in the way rather than helping to provide solutions,
• needing to work with 11 different organisations, with very different concerns, to run an electrical supply cable onto what is a relatively sensitive site with neighbours needing to avoid disruption,
• having to find solutions for bringing a water supply with sufficient capacity onto site, and for discharging the waste water safely, where no public supply infrastructure or sewers exist - this may be a water-based site owned by a water company, right on the edge of a major built-up area, but these were serious problems to be solved to everyone's satisfaction,
• constantly having to point out to some members of the public using the site alongside us, that dogs roaming free and leaving their mess right next to where children are trying to launch kayaks, is really not very helpful (this one has not yet been solved!).

The work that has gone into this project to get to opening day has been immense.  While contractors have been used for the specialist or biggest jobs that it was simply not feasible for volunteers to do, the rest has been achieved with hour after hour of voluntary work by busy people with busy work and home lives.  Whether it was design work, fundraising event planning, project managing building work, or putting plasterboard on walls, we did it and we're proud of what we've done.  I don't believe we have spent money where we didn't need to, but we have kept the quality of the work and materials high; this building has been built to last and built to impress.  I am certain that it will do both.

So what now?

In the immediate term, we are enjoying the feeling of completion.  I am sitting here in the main hall on a beautiful summer's evening, watching the Relentless Explorer Sea Scout Unit kayaking, sailing and rowing, out of one of the huge windows letting the evening sun shine in.  Someone who couldn't make it to Sunday's opening has just had a tour of the building; she was involved in the early days of the project and is thrilled to see the building available for use.  The leaders are planning and running their groups as they always do, building the newly available facilities into their plans.  The other potential user groups like Ferny Crofts and Sailability were here to participate in the opening event and are now away planning how they are going to make best use of the centre and get into the final discussions of operational details with us.

But we're not done yet.  There are some details inside and outside the building that are not yet in place, some bigger than others.  Some are waiting for some additional funding to become available, others just need a bit more time and effort, having not quite made it yet.  So we'll start to move through completion items and into full operational use and maintenance; less about the Road to Aquativity and more about Living with Aquativity.  We'll start to find out what works and what doesn't, what we can adapt to and what we'll need to fix, and how to get the best use out of what is a fantastic resource for a Sea Scout group and a community.

Thanks for all of the support from everyone involved and to those reading this, please keep in touch, particularly if you think you have something to offer to help Aquativity meet its goals.

The last push

With 11 days to go until the official opening, there are still lots of smaller jobs to do.  All of a sudden, what previously seemed to be "oh, plenty of time to get that done, it is only a little job" turns into "wow, what a lot of little jobs we need to get done in such a short time".

Working parties continue to eat into this list of "little jobs".  A team were out on the weekend laying a new lawn - see the Sea Scouts website for some pictures, followed by some watering on Monday and Tuesday evening, helped by a fair amount of rain yesterday.  Yesterday evening a few of us were pushing on with electrical fittings and the like - a few more lights and switches fitted, data cable trunking underway etc.  And this builds on a few other tasks that people have managed to complete over the last few days - painting stairs, painting boat store doors, finishing off kitchen cupboards, fitting shower and toilet partitions in the changing areas...

Still some electrics to finish and test, extractor systems to complete, doors to shave off now flooring has been fitted (and the warmer weather has expanded some wood), general tidying up, and plenty of other "little jobs".  More time allocated for this on Thursday evening, and over the coming weekend, so we can take stock at the start of next week and prepare the building for opening day.  Of course, we all know there will be further work beyond that, but we will be at the point of having a fully usable facility, and completion of residual tasks will start to merge into maintenance.

Very exciting times - we're all looking forward to a very big day on 23rd when we can finally look back on all the hard work and declare that we have reached the end of The Road to Aquativity.

Lights, trailers, showers, notice boards...

...and more finishing touches - closer to completion every day.  Tonight's review of progress shows a few more highlights from the last couple of weeks.

I didn't get any photos of the kitchens because the Group Scout Leader and Assistant Group Scout Leader were too busy fitting cupboard door and drawer fronts for me to get in their way!  But the kitchens are now both approaching completion - cookers are in, one of the extractors is fitted and the other ready to go in, and most of the cupboards are now complete.

All 3 changing areas are rapidly looking like usable spaces, having spent a long time being the last rooms to progress. Shower fittings are in, pipework is in, and we now just need to get the two connected together.  Toilets are fitted, extractor fans are going in and these areas are getting close to complete.

The main entrance foyer has carpet, alarm fittings, emergency exits, lights, fire extinguishers - all ready for use.  Similarly, the upstairs landing area is floored, lit and signed, including toilets, lift access and doorways into the meeting room and kitchen.

In the boat store, the Pico (sailing dinghy) trailers have arrived, been adjusted to fit our boats and now they make ideal racking as well as transport when needed.  With kayak racking around the walls, canoes, RIBs and extra kayaks down the centre, 2x 3-boat Pico trailers, racked and labelled buoyancy aids, and raft building equipment down one wall, all is in place for a complete boating programme.

Last but certainly not least for today, the main hall.  Lights are now connected up and in use, heating is available for use (and very effective), emergency exits are signed and with emergency lighting ready for use.

The banners used for advertising the Aquativity Centre have been put in here and in the foyer to help any early visitors understand the project and its potential uses.

The Donkey Derby and its associated Grand Draw will raise some much-needed funds this Saturday, alongside a boating event on the lake, also providing some important income for the Centre.  Plenty more working parties for finishing the electrics, painting and other finishing touches over the coming weeks, so a busy few weeks, but as these photos show, it is well worth it and showing some fantastic results.

Finishing touches continue

Since the last update here, finishing the various rooms and facilities in the Aquativity Centre has continued.  A few highlights include good progress with the internal plumbing for toilets, basins, showers etc., completing the flooring (the foyer, for example, has been transformed with a hard-wearing carpet) and getting towards the completion of the what has seemed to be an endless task of the electrical wiring and fittings.

Note the opaque window preventing view into the boat store
with one of the new lights above

The most visible signs of this recent progress are the fitting of opaque coverings on ground floor windows to prevent all our equipment being directly on display to passers-by, and the fitting of exterior lights around the building to help visitors find their way and to support our outdoor evening programmes of activities.

It is a very busy time for the Sea Scouts at the moment - finishing the building off, preparing for full operation, ongoing Scouting and boating programmes and of course preparing for the Donkey Derby on 18th May.

Back into the boating season

While the building gets finished off, Scouts and Explorers are back into their boating season.  Good to see the lake in use again.

In the building, kitchens, flooring (including carpeting in 2 rooms) are progressing well...

Carpet is down, but still a mass of wiring to sort!

Oh, and the waterproof surfaces in the changing areas have been fitted, so that is getting on well too.

Opening day, 23rd June, will soon be here!

Opening Day declared!

It was declared to the Sea Scouts today - we have an official opening day...

23rd June 2013 is when Aquativity will be declared operational.

Progress towards completion in preparation for the official opening is really rapid now.  The Easter holidays have come and gone, but that hasn't stopped anyone from their efforts.  So what has been done recently?

The main hall has flooring down, skirting fitted and painted, and doors fitted.  The heating is fully commissioned and working.  It just needs cupboards fitting, the downlighters fitted and all the electrics connected up to be made live, then it is complete (minor details aside).  Doesn't it look fine?  Won't it look even more fine when it is full of children in uniform on a section evening?

Plumbing is well underway in toilets, kitchens and changing areas.  Doors are fitted all over the building and most of the flooring has been laid down.  Kitchen cupboards are fitted upstairs and downstairs, with doors and worktops in progress.









Most dramatically, the boat store is into operation!  Our existing fleet has been moved in from the container last weekend, and complemented by our new kayak fleet.  Kayaks and paddles are racked on the walls.  Sails are furled around masts and on racks above doors.  Picos are awaiting their road trailers then will go just inside the main doors ready for easy wheeling out to the slipway.  Canoes, raft building equipment and RIBs fill in the gaps, alongside new and existing buoyancy aids, sorted by size and hanging on wheeled racks.  I ask again, doesn't it look fine?

The boat store doors have been undercoated ready for gloss coat this weekend - coloured for port and starboard (as you enter the store from outside).

The container is being removed tomorrow (for a profit as well!), and outside landscaping is planned ready for completion as soon as we can get to it.









Meanwhile, we mustn't forget that our annual...
Donkey Derby is rapidly approaching - 18th May 2013.  Eling Recreation Ground - lots of fun, programmes on sale around Totton over the coming weeks.

A tour of the building

As you may have seen on the Sea Scouts website, there have been quite a few working parties over recent weeks, as well as ongoing work from a range of trades.  This has led to rapid progress as you might expect, so I thought it was about time we took a tour of the building, with some current status along the way...


As you come onto site at Testwood Lakes, pass the public car park and go round to our gate to the front of the building.  Just inside the gate is the filtration tank for our waste water enabling the cleaned water to flow into the ditch.  This is connected up, just needing power to enable pumping and filtration once the building's waste pipes need it.  Over to the right is the gas tank for feeding the hot water boilers, and straight in front is the main entrance to the building.

All around the building is a concrete pathway, with downpipes running down from the guttering into drainage channels and out into soakaways.  Alarm boxes and security cameras are high on the walls, with cabling ready to fit lights around the outside to guide people into and around the building.  On the lake side of the building, facing the slipway, are the large double boat store doors alongside the rear door for use when boating.  On the NW face, the emergency exit now has the large air conditioning fan unit alongside it, next to the vehicle access to the lake side.

Going in through the main front door, you enter the foyer.  To the right is the utilities cupboard, rapidly filling up with electrical and other connections to supply the building.  The foyer walls are now plastered, awaiting painting, cupboard door, flooring, skirting and lights.  The main stairs are straight ahead, next to the passageways going left to female changing and boat store, and straight on to male changing and the other rooms downstairs.  Similarly, these passageways are either plastered or about to be, then painting, flooring, skirting and lights can go in.

Turning left, the female changing area has partitions for showers and toilets, extractor fan ducting went in last night, and plumbing is in progress.  These changing areas are where a lot of current work is going on to board the ceiling, clad the walls, get the plumbing and electrics completed, lay the flooring etc.

Going past the female changing, the boat store opens up as a large area ready to be filled.  The walls and ceiling are painted, the floor is half painted (hoping to paint the other half this weekend), lights are fitted and working on a sensor-operated system, and emergency exit signs are up and working.  This room will have racking to hold our fleet of kayaks and dinghies, with two big pairs of doors opening out to the slipway.  At the far end, a wide door opens into the dry store, which already has racking fitted ready to hold tents and general equipment.  This area is virtually complete, just needing the lights fitted and a few sundry jobs in readiness for moving the equipment in.  Next to the dry store is the emergency exit, together with secondary stairway down from the first floor.

Boat store a few weeks back
(ok, these are ceiling boards not boats,
but you get an idea of the space available)

Doubling back by the lake side doors, the galley is first fixed with electrics and plumbing, and boarded out ready for plastering and then on to fitting out with units, cooker, sink etc.  The toilet, male changing and disabled/leader changing area are all in a similar state to the female changing, and a focus of activity at the moment.  The two meeting rooms are being plastered this week then will just need painting, flooring, doors and skirting, and electrical fittings.  The lift between them is fully installed and commissioned ready for use.  Under the stairs is a useful broom cupboard.

Back at the stairs, go up to the upstairs foyer (stairs and foyer are complete, with painted walls and ceiling, just the lights to go in).

Turn right back on yourself to see meeting room 3, also painted and awaiting door, flooring, skirting and electrical fittings.  Then there is the lift of course and the upstairs kitchen, also painted and almost ready for fitting out.  The flooring is down in here and looking good.  There is a fantastic range cooker ready to be fitted, along with units and tall fridge which we will install very soon.

With the stairs on your left, two toilets are on the right - flooring is fitted, basins and toilet fittings are installed and being plumbed in, with door frames ready to take the doors.  Above your head is a loft access hatch into a really useful large storage space for hot water boilers and lots of equipment.

On and through the double doors into the main event - the meeting hall!  Rather than use my now out of date photos from a couple of weeks back, take a look at the hall in use on our website from last weekend.  Having it full of Cubs and Scouts talking with our local explorer is definitely how it should best be seen.  The heating system is almost complete, with a large unit in the loft area above the far stairs to be ducted into the ceiling areas along each side of the hall and piped down into the room.  The main lights are fitted, with downlighters along the sides to be fitted once the main lights can be switched on and we can see exactly what we need.  Equipment cupboards for each section of the Sea Scouts Group are planned for the far end, with more general storage space in the loft above.  Some beautiful flooring has been chosen and is nearly ready to be fitted, then skirting and doors will largely complete the hall for use.  Even the location of the Sea Scouts Colours (flags) is planned out, so you can see how we've been giving some serious thought to how the group will make good use of the space.

So that's it - quite a facility (in my humble opinion).  We really are getting close to completion now - the anticipation of starting to use it over the summer is growing day by day as we see each task completed around the rooms.

Back outside, we've got a few other jobs to complete - the main ones being fencing and gates to put up, topsoil to spread and turf over, a container to empty of boats into the building and remove from site, and over the boating season we'll get to see how to make best use of the site, get our Colours flying when outdoor activities are in progress and start to enjoy the results of all our hard work.