Building skills, confidence and community: supporting Nottinghamshire Scouts' new adventure centre

Perfect Circle is supporting Nottinghamshire Scouts in delivering a once-in-a-generation project to expand and future-proof their much-loved Adventure Activity Centre near Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire. This inspirational development will create lasting benefits for thousands of young people, volunteers, and community groups across the county and beyond.

In 2015, Nottinghamshire Scouts secured a 30-year lease on a 150-acre lake and surrounding land. Just two years later, the site opened its doors to young people, offering water- and land-based activities including sailing, canoeing, paddleboarding, and archery. Since then, the centre has gone from strength to strength, delivering over 40,000 hours of activities annually and training over 110 volunteer instructors.

Now, with the support of Perfect Circle, plans are well underway to build a permanent, purpose-built facility to replace the temporary structures that have supported the centre since its launch. The new building - nearly three times the size of the existing one - will be fully inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and professionally equipped to meet the needs of Scouts, schools, and community users for decades to come.

Perfect Circle is providing multi-disciplinary consultancy services on the Scape Venture Framework, through Pick Everard, Gleeds and Maber Associates. These services include project and cost management, architectural design, mechanical and electrical design advice, planning and technical advisory, and sustainability and accessibility expertise. 

“We’re thrilled to see this fantastic initiative moving into its next chapter,” said John Bradley, Operations Director at Perfect Circle and Director at Pick Everard. “As a long-standing Scout volunteer myself, I know how much this centre means to the young people and adults it serves. The new facility will not only strengthen Scouting in Nottinghamshire but will also provide accessible, high-quality outdoor experiences to a wider community.”

Designed by a dedicated project management team of construction professionals, all volunteers and Scout supporters, the new centre will feature multi-purpose classrooms for training and indoor activities; accessible toilets and shower facilities; upgraded kitchen and volunteer spaces, and sustainable features such as water recycling and the sedum roof.

Crucially, the expansion will enable the centre to host even more activity sessions, offer year-round programming, and welcome external users including schools, Girlguiding, Air Cadets, emergency services and wellbeing groups.

With planning permission secured and £150,000 committed by Nottinghamshire Scouts, the team is now working to raise an additional £350,000 to bring the vision to life.