Work on mountain rescue HQ set to start

Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team Work machinery and people stand in a grassy field - the site that will become the new base for the Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team. Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team
Work on Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team's headquarters is set to start

A mountain rescue team said it will need to carry on fundraising to pay off a shortfall in the cost of building its new headquarters.

The Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team (DFMRT) will create its new base on land opposite its existing headquarters, in Foxfield.

The team said it had raised more than £1m in a decade and was "financially able to proceed with the basic base build".

However, it said it would need to continue raising money to "pay off any loan and deal with the final fit out".

DFMRT said the final cost of the project had doubled since 2019 "before the Covid pandemic and other delays".

"We have just agreed a builder with a fixed-price quote, which includes all ground works and contingencies," a Facebook post read.

The team said it was "immensely grateful" to donors.

"Our supporters have been amazing and raised a further £200,000 during 2024 largely through smallish donations from hundreds of supporters, and hopefully this will continue," the post added.

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