06 Jun 2023

The Trustees of Girlguiding UK have announced that they have made a recommendation to put up for sale their five activity centres  - Blackland Farm, Foxlease, Glenbrook, Waddow Hall and Ynysgain. The plan is that they keep operating until 31 December 2023, with all 2023 bookings and events going ahead as planned. 

Trustees considered the following when making the recommendation: 

• Adventure is everywhere in Girlguiding, and we remain committed to giving all girls opportunities to experience adventures big and small. We will continue to develop events and activities like our new adventure badges, which celebrate when girls adventure and inspire others to have their own adventures. But these events and activities may need to continue at sites not owned by Girlguiding in future. 
• The activity centres have been used by less than 10% of our membership over the past decade. We know most of our members are choosing to have adventures within their units, near their home, and in other locations and facilities.  
• There has been historic underinvestment in the activity centres, and they have been running at an overall loss for some years, despite successful efforts to generate more business from different markets. The centres would need significant funding of over £20m in the coming years to be fit for future use. We cannot afford this level of investment. 

The trustees have made this recommendation to help financially secure the organisation, so that Girlguiding can continue to be a place where girls know they can do anything for years to come. The recommendation is that the 5 activity centres would be sold, with net proceeds going back into a designated investment fund to support Girlguiding activities, adventure for girls across the UK, and for a range of purposes to invest in the future of Girlguiding.

The recommendation is not a reflection on the activities and experiences both staff and volunteers have enabled over many years, and the trustees want to thank everyone who has been involved with the activity centres. 

What's next? 

This is a recommendation. Girlguiding will now enter a statutory process (required by law) with affected staff and with our employee representative group. They will make a further announcement in August about the outcome of this process and the sale of the activity centres. 

Read the full statement from Girlguiding UK