East Anglia RFCA completed an upgrade of the Stanford-le-Hope Cadets’ hut for the Essex Army Cadet Force, creating a more welcoming space for Army Cadets and adult volunteers who train there.
The East Anglia RFCA Estates team made improvements to the building inside and outside, to make the space more functional, more practical and more welcoming.
Externally, the RFCA team made it easier for the cadets to train outside during the winter months by improving the external lighting, fitting powerful yet energy-efficient LED floodlights.
To enable wheelchair access, the team added a ramp and handrails to the main entrance and fire exit.
The windows were all upgraded to new thermally-efficient double-glazed uPVC windows, replacing the original drafty single-glazed units. The existing timber cladding was repainted to keep the building looking sharp for years to come.
Inside, the team installed energy-saving LED lighting throughout, replacing doors with fire doors in compliance with current building regulations and replacing the toilet facilities.
As an additional energy-saving measure, the team installed new electric heaters with timers; so the heating can be set to turn on just before the detachment opening times and turn off again automatically at a set time. This means when the cadets and adults arrive on a cold day, the building is warm and welcoming, and there’s no risk of the heaters accidentally remaining on while the building isn’t in use.
Neil Fawsitt, Cadet Administrative Assistant at Essex ACF who 8 of the Essex Cadet huts said: “The new “One-Key” system is a really useful addition. Instead of having lots of different keys, myself and the detachment commander each have a master key which unlocks them all.”
The RFCA Estates team manage over 500 buildings across East Anglia and deliver a year-round programme of improvements that sits alongside capital projects and maintenance workstreams. This project was completed with a 6-week lead time and Maldon Building Services were appointed as the main contractors to carry out the works.
This is another great example of the work the RFCA team carries out throughout the year; adding energy-saving measures, improving access, applying common sense to make the buildings easy to run locally by detachment commanders.