Together for Good: SBF GB&I Community Fund has provided £400 of match funding
Scarr Bandstand needs a disabled-access toilet!
Coleford, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
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Aim
A permanent disabled-access composting toilet at Scarr Bandstand would mean everyone can join in as performers, audience or volunteers
WHAT IS THE SCARR BANDSTAND?
Friends of Scarr Bandstand, run entirely by volunteers, has restored the historic Scarr Bandstand, where brass bands have played for over 130 years, near Coleford in the Forest of Dean. We have organised a popular annual summer season of music & theatre events since 2017, most with free entry so that everyone can come. Forest of Dean is an area of social/financial deprivation, without a dedicated theatre or arts centre. A lack of public transport means many people have little chance of experiencing live arts events. FOSB also facilitates the community's own events at the Bandstand. Well over a thousand local people participate or attend events each year.
WHY DO WE NEED A DISABLED-ACCESS TOILET?
We have made huge efforts to make the venue inclusive, creating a disabled-access car park, with a dial-a-ride minibus at bigger events, attending dementia-awareness courses, improving the text on our website, and we welcome those with mental and physical challenges as audience, performers & volunteers.
HOWEVER: we hire in a portable chemical toilet for each event, and this is not disabled-friendly. A disabled-access 'portaloo' would be too expensive to hire for our sort of events. We fear there are people unable to attend because of the lack of a suitable toilet. Many of our audience are older residents, especially for the free brass band & choir events; we also regularly welcome families including someone with physical challenges. We have had volunteers who cannot stay for the whole event because of the lack of a disabled-access toilet.
Nor is a 'portaloo' environmentally friendly; chemicals may spill, and the units are brought/taken away on large lorries.
WHAT TOILET DO WE NEED?
We have sourced a permanent disabled-access composting toilet in a vandal-proof metal cabin (the site is secluded: anything wooden risks being vandalised). Our landlords, Forestry England, have approved this. Suppliers NatSol and installers Landcraft have approved the siting, right beside the disabled car park with a gentle access ramp. The work to be carried out this winter, when the Bandstand is not in use. Everyone will be able to use this toilet.
THE COST
The total cost of equipment/installation, plus 10% contingency, is £19,723.30. A lot of money, but this is a long-lasting permanent unit, properly installed, with little maintenance.
We have already raised £8,000 from FOD District Council and Gloucestershire County Council. A further £3,723.30 will be secured from our own funds, donations and further funding applications. We are now seeking the rest of the funding, £8000, from this Crowdfunder, with match funding from Suntory, to make this project happen. Any donation up to £250 will be matched by Suntory. Any donation above £250 will receive further £250 from Suntory.
HOW WILL THE RIGHT TOILET HELP?
With a permanent disabled-access composting toilet, we will be a step closer to being truly inclusive. The Bandstand has already been used by several groups with health challenges. Having a suitable toilet will, we believe, lead to more community groups using the Bandstand for their own events, as well as more people feeling able to enjoy the summer season of music and theatre.
Attending events at the Scarr Bandstand creates joy for all generations and abilities. Volunteering, participating and performing in choirs, brass bands, dance groups and other music groups fosters pride and enhances self-worth, improves mental well-being and tackles isolation.
We want everyone to be able to come if they wish, share the joy, and benefit from this community space. We do not want anyone to be excluded just because there are no suitable toilet facilities.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th October 2026 at 5:56pm