Downe | |||
---|---|---|---|
Owner | The Scout Association | ||
Location | Orpington, Greater London | ||
Country | United Kingdom | ||
Founded | unknown | ||
Downe Scout Activity Centre was one of the National Scout Activity Centres under the direct control of The Scout Association in Downe near Orpington, Greater London. It provided camping and indoor accommodations for Scouts and Guides.
The Downe site of 86 acres is 16 miles (26 km) from the centre of London near the Biggin Hill airfield.
In November 2020 the Scout Association announced their intention to sell the site. [1] The Scout Association said it would do everything possible "to make sure that the legacies are honoured and heritage preserved" [2]
In late July 2021 The Scout Association trustees unanimously agreed to sell the site to Friends of Downe Activity Centre, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Registered Charity Number 1194761). Friends of Downe Activity Centre hoped to ensure that future generations of young people were able to enjoy the site. [3]
Negotiations followed, and unfortunately, an agreement couldn’t be reached. The Scout Association decided to sell to another party, which failed to proceed and then again to a different party, which also failed to proceed. Friends of Downe were offered the opportunity to bid again in December 2023. TSA then informed them they would take the site to auction, mid-February and that Friends of Downe could proceed with their bid outside of this process as a parallel planning opportunity for The Scout Association.
Towards the end of April 2024, Friends of Downe Activity Centre (FoDAC) agreed and signed a contract with The Scout Association (TSA) for the purchase of Downe Activity Centre. The site purchase will be completed in the summer of 2024. [4]
Downe is registered as an Asset of Community Value with the London Borough of Bromley and this will remain a material consideration in any planning applications for some years to come. Since June 2022, the whole site has been covered by a TPO (Tree Protection Order). The TPO prevents trees from being removed or pruned without formal prior permission from the London Borough of Bromley Planning.
Downe Camp, close to Orpington, opened in 1929 as a Scoutmasters' Training Ground. [5] From 1933 it was available to Scout Groups and the site offered camping and some activities, including swimming. This was possible by the construction of a swimming pool which was funded by the proceeds from the very first Gang Show, which was organised by Ralph Reader for this very purpose.
Charles Darwin lived in the road along from Downe House and undertook his famous worm experiments on at least two areas of the site.
The site was supported by a committee one of whom was Sir Jeremiah Coleman, together with his wife, he donated money to build the Providor as their golden wedding anniversary gift. They also donated the clock from their stable block and paid for the tower around it.
Located adjacent to Biggin Hill Airport, Downe Scout Camp was used as a base for the Home Guard during World War II and required considerable efforts by working parties of Rover Scouts in the late 1940s to return it to a Scout camp ground.
Greater London South East Scouts assumed control and management of the site in 1987. However, in 2005, the site was renamed as Downe Activity Centre and became one of the National Scout Activity Centres under the direct control of The Scout Association. [6]
The site was used as part of a Blue Peter special which aired on 20 February 2007 to promote the Scouting 2007 Centenary. Over 100 Cub Scouts, Scouts and Explorer Scouts were present on the camp, along with the TV crew who joined in with all of the activities. [7]
A series of international camps called Campdowne have been held at the site, the first was in 1989, followed by 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and the most recent in 2013. Campdowne has been attended by Scouts and Guides from all over the world, set in both the woodland and open fields the camps offered a unique and unforgettable ten day programme of events and activities.
Biggin Hill is a town in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is situated beyond London's contiguous built-up area in the Metropolitan green belt, 15.2 miles (24.5 km) south-southeast of Charing Cross. It is located adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Kent and Surrey. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historic and administrative county of Kent. At the 2011 Census, Biggin Hill had a population of 9,951.
Cudham is an area in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley and beyond London's urban sprawl. It is located on the Greater London border with Kent, bordering the Sevenoaks District. Cudham lies south of Orpington and north west of Sevenoaks. It is located 15.9 miles (25.6 km) south-southeast of Charing Cross.
Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Common, just beyond the London conurbation to the south of Bromley Common. It includes the small hamlet of Nash to the southwest. The northern, more suburban part of Keston is sometimes referred to as Keston Mark.
Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles south east of Charing Cross.
The London Borough of Bromley is a borough in London, England. It borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part of until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 census was 329,991. It is named after Bromley, its principal district. Other districts are Penge, Hayes, West Wickham, Chislehurst, Beckenham and Orpington. The local authority is Bromley London Borough Council.
London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located 12 NM south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviation to large business jets. It currently has no scheduled airline service, as flights using the airport are not regularly permitted to carry fare-paying passengers.
Downe, formerly Down, is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond London's contiguous urban area. Downe is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south west of Orpington and 14.2 miles (22.9 km) south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and much of the centre of the village is unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall. The word Downe originates from the Anglo Saxon word dūn, latterly down, hence the South and North Downs. In April 1965, Downe and the remaining part of Orpington Urban District Council, was abolished, and transferred from the historic county of Kent and placed within the newly created London Borough of Bromley.
Farnborough is a village in south-eastern Greater London, England, and prior to 1965, in the historic county of Kent. Situated south of Locksbottom, west of Green Street Green, north of Downe and Hazelwood, and east of Keston, it is centred 13.4 miles (21.6 km) southeast of Charing Cross.
Orpington is a constituency created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Gareth Bacon, a Conservative. It is the largest constituency in Greater London by area, covering the east and south of the London Borough of Bromley.
Scout Adventures are a network of activity centres run by The Scout Association. They offer outdoor facilities, adventurous activities and experiences for members of the Scout Association, other youth organisations and school groups. The centres typically have capacity for hundreds of Scouts simultaneously, often including indoor accommodation in addition to camping. Staffed by qualified instructors, they offer adventurous activities and training for adult volunteers and young people following the badges of the Scout programme.
Bromley was a rural district in north-west Kent, England from 1894 to 1934. Its area now forms part of the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. It did not include the main settlement of the same name, which constituted the Municipal Borough of Bromley. Mottingham formed an exclave of the district.
Ruxley is a rural settlement of South East London, England that straddles the boundary of the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley. It is located 13 miles southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London, in the Metropolitan Green Belt between Sidcup and Swanley and is also adjacent to the Greater London border with the county of Kent.
Leaves Green is a village in Greater London within the London Borough of Bromley.
Scouting in the region of Greater London is largely represented by The Scout Association of the United Kingdom and some Groups of traditional Scouting including the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.
Berry's Green a small hamlet in the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, UK, situated outside of London's contiguous built-up area. It is a fairly wooded rural area with a scattering of farmland. Housing consists mainly of detached properties, mostly bungalows, with a row of local authority cottages and a static mobile home site. It is part of the largest ward in Greater London, Darwin (ward). When the Ward was first constituted in 1965, Berry's Green, was joined with Downe, Cudham, Leaves Green, Single Street, Luxted, and Westerham Hill. The current elected political party's website (2022), states the present named other areas as Downe, Cudham, Leaves Green, Leavesden Estate, Westerham Hill, Beechwood, and Pratts Bottom
Crofton is a suburb of Orpington in southeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is about 13.6 miles (21.9 km) southeast of Charing Cross. It lies south of Petts Wood, west of Orpington and Broom Hill, north of Green Street Green and Farnborough, north-east of Locksbottom and east of Bromley Common.
High Elms Country Park is an extensive 250-acre (100 ha) public park on the North Downs in Farnborough in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and together with the neighbouring Downe Bank, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The park surrounds High Elms Golf Course, and has extensive woodland, chiefly oak and beech, chalk meadows and formal gardens. It also has a cafe, a visitor centre, nature and history trails and car parks.
Bromley London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils.