Hautbois House Activity Centre: Small grant, big impact

Hautbois Activity Centre is an impressive 19th Century country house, set amidst 28 acres of beautiful countryside. Located on the edge of the Norfolk Broads, the centre is the perfect multi-purpose events venue, with expertise in delivering activity visits, relaxing residential breaks, motivational training, and special occasions for groups of all ages.

Fun, friendship and adventures

A diverse group of children and young people enjoy Hautbois Activity Centre. Hundreds of guests visit every year, including guides from across the region, schools, youth groups, church groups and students. Through fun, friendship, challenge, and adventure Hautbois Activity Centre empowers members of Girlguiding, children and young people to find their voice, inspiring them to discover the best in themselves and to make a positive difference in their community. They provide residential and day activity breaks with a range of over twenty-six outdoor activities including paddleboarding, kayaking, climbing, archery, and a wide range of team-based activities. It is a fantastic way to build confidence and help young people to improve their physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing in an environment close to nature.

Small grant: big impact

Hautbois House Activity Centre is one of over one hundred youth facilities to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grant. These were smaller grants of up to £150,000 for youth services that only needed a modest investment to renovate their service. Hautbois House Activity Centre had the ambition to make their space more sustainable and accessible.

Fiona Hunter, Centre Manager for Hautbois Activity Centre, said:

“Our number one priority was to make the space greener and more sustainable. Girl guides are passionate about getting to Net Zero and the Youth Investment Fund gave us a golden opportunity to make this ambition a reality. We had a poorly insulated old building using high carbon energy, and we were worried about soaring energy prices. Plus, a lack of suitable showers  and toilets was hindering our expansion. Outdoor activities, like paddleboarding and kayaking means that quality showering facilities are a must.”

A Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grant of £128,000 also freed up their budget and meant they could also make additional improvements. It was a fast-paced renovation process. They received the funds in October and had completed all the works by the end of March.

The Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment programme has enabled much needed upgrades to Hautbois House to future proof the building and to enable savings on energy bills which could be reinvested into their primary provision of youth activities. The works included new solar panels on the roof of Hautbois House and the Region Office, increasing roof and wall insulation, installing secondary double glazing throughout the building and converting an existing outbuilding into additional toilets and shower facilities.  During the warmer months up to 100% of the energy in their Region Office is now generated by the solar panels and they can store reserve energy in the extra batteries provided, which is enabling them to make further savings and increase sustainability.

Fiona Hunter added:

“The impact has been amazing. The insulation has made so much difference, and everyone says that the building is so much warmer. And it’s much more efficient, in fact our energy consumption has been reduced significantly.”

“Vitally, the renovation means we can support even more children and young people. The enhanced showers and toilets have increased our camping capacity and improved our health and safety. Previously children and young people had to walk through the car park to use the showers.”

“We could not have achieved this transformation so quickly without the Youth Investment Fund.”

You can find out more about the Hautbois House Activity Centre here.