Meet…Gary Scull
“The support from Steve and many other volunteers has been amazing and vital in this first phase of getting the building safe and ready to open.”
One of the key people overseeing work on Kerith Farnborough’s new building is Kerith’s Operations Director Gary Scull.
“I’ve been on team at Kerith for 10 years now starting out overseeing Facilities and taking on the role of Operations Director in 2016. It’s my role to oversee our legal, contractual and financial obligations along with the line management of the Operations departmental managers of HR, Finance, Site Services and Production. My first (and probably most challenging) job on the Caroline House project was securing the mortgage. We had a two-week window between deciding to try and secure the site and the day of the auction which is a big ask to get someone to agree to lend you that much money in that timeframe. In fact I was still waiting on the call from the lender to confirm they could do it whilst we were in the room bidding. The timescale from winning the auction to completion and hand over was also very short and not without its complications, with a lot of stuff to provide to the lenders before they could release the money. On the day of completion it came right down to the wire but God is good and likes to keep me on my toes.
After taking the keys the real work began. My remit is to oversee the redevelopment of the site in terms of contract building works as well as get the all-important health and safety measures in place to make the building compliant and safe before we can open to the community. I approached Steve Hotston, Kerith’s former Operations Director, to see if he would project manage these areas alongside me and thankfully he took up the challenge and has been instrumental in getting work lined up and in place over the past few months. The support from Steve and many other volunteers has been amazing and vital in this first phase of getting the building safe and ready to open in its most basic capacity, as has the support of many contractors from within our community that have gone the extra mile in their works on the project. We`ve had burst water mains, no gas or electricity, rogue pigeons, and asbestos removal to deal with, but things are taking shape now. We have all new electrics, boiler and heating works, lots of plumbing jobs and the installation of new external doors, fire detection and safety systems, CCTV and intruder alarms, carpets, paint and partition walls. Oh and not to forget a very long and dusty weekend back in May dismantling the old soft play equipment and sending it on its way to its new home at the Pioneers Project in Plymouth.
In Spring 2022 we`ll start all over again as we look at the long-term future for the site and plan for what will need to happen next over the coming years as Phase 2 starts to take shape.”