March 2024 Update
Until Now
This is our first update on this newsletter, so a bit of a recap of previous activity is in order. Until now, The Cambridge Arch Project has:
Corresponded with the teams behind the club-run climbing tower in Halle, Germany and the BaNanna Park in Copenhagen to understand more about their operating model and costs. They’ve been incredibly generous with their time and given us lots of info to work with.
Spoken with EP Climbing and Kong Climbing regarding the basics of construction of outdoor towers like this.
Used the above sources to arrive at a ballpark build cost for a free-standing climbing arch of £400,000. This number will of course be refined as we find a location and a construction partner.
Spoken with Dan Middleton, Climbing Development Manager at the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) to get his initial thoughts and feedback. Dan was really encouraging to speak to and shared his valued views on the minimum that a facility like this could offer in order to serve its purpose.
Update
Here’s what we’ve been up to in March:
Participated in the Allia ‘Start Your Business’ Program for social ventures. Allia kindly allowed us to join this program half way through (we found out about it a little later than we would have liked!). It offered us workshops on a few topics key to running a social venture, which we’ve found invaluable for helping our thinking about the project.
Met with Sam Carling, Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services on the Cambridge City Council to share our excitement about the project. As a member of the local Planning Committee, we were really grateful for Sam’s time and thoughts.
Met with Emma Millar to discuss appropriate legal structures for The Cambridge Arch Project.
Set up this newsletter!
Next Month
Build further interest with local climbers, reach out to more climbing clubs and communities (hello there! If you’d like to get in touch with us, comment here or email thecambridgearch@gmail.com)
Produce a set of criteria for finding candidate locations and a set of key people to involve in the location-scouting process
Plan our focus group process for hearing from a wide range of prospective wall-goers
Thanks
Marina Pritchard at Allia for getting us involved in the SYB program
Emma Millar for her advice on legal structures
Sam Carling for making time for us and for his enthusiasm even as we enter a busy local election period
Happy climbing!