We thought you might want to see some of the developments at Kew Villa since we started work on the rebuild in October!
26 January 2024
First of all, thank you to everyone who has kindly and generously donated to the Project Kew Villa GoFundMe campaign.
We still need a BIG push to get us towards our goal of £25,000. The campaign is to raise funds for Solar Panels and energy efficiency enhancements to the new Kew, to bring us into the 21st century and underpin our commitment to sustainability and green energy. This was an ambitious vision. However, this is now a COMPULSORY measure added by the building regulators, so we NEED to install the solar panel, and we need your help raising the funds to pay for this! If each of our out 1000+ members put in £10, that would be an additional £10,000+ in the kitty.
Please, if you can do so, donate to the Go Fund Me campaign here and make a real difference to the future of the Bird Observatory - https://www.gofundme.com/f/project-kew-villa
Anyone who visited Kilnsea from November onwards will have seen the progress made by the team here. But for those who haven’t been able to get over, here is a timeline of what we have been up to over the winter months.
Preparations began in October, with the removal of the willows and adjoining vegetation, opening up the surrounding area so that the demolition equipment had easy access. The autumn volunteers did an amazing job at transforming the area.
In November, Paul and Rob moved out, the power and phone line were disconnected and the caravan site was closed down. The external cladding was largely removed and went to a new home, so much of this was recycled. The roof was removed, and Kew Villa as we all know it was flattened and the rubble removed from the site.
Within a couple of days, the footings were dug out and the concrete base was poured. The team from Sewell Construction did an amazing job with all the groundwork, so a big thank you to them and Martin Standley for completing this work so quickly and efficiently before the end of December.
In January, the timber frame arrived and was installed by the team from Flitcraft. Again, this was such an efficient and swift process. Thank you to the installation team from Doncaster who came over and had this completed within 3 days!
This was a significant point in the development, as now there is the shell of a building installed, and the scale of the building is there to be seen!
A team from LA Joinery came to build the roof and install the insulation ready for the membrane to be installed. Thanks to Liam, Rob, Ricky, Brandon and Caleb. Great job!
Gray Speight was up next, and did an absolutely brilliant job at getting the site in shape and ready for the floor screed, which has now been poured and is currently setting. Thank you Gray!
At the same time the screed was going in, the roofers installed the membrane on the roof and despite the storms, managed to find a window in the weather where the wind was slack enough and there was no rain, and got the job done. It looks very smart!
That brings us up to date.
Next up are the windows and doors, and the first fix of the electrics and plumbing, plaster boarding and plastering inside, so still a LOT of work to be done, but we have a building again now!
We’ll keep posting updates on the GoFundMe campaign page, so please donate and keep up to date via there!
Thank you,
Spurn Bird Observatory Trust
