A CHARITY is continuing the fight to build a new hall for Scouts and Guides who have been without a permanent base for years.

The Old Basing Scout and Guide Hall charity project has been fundraising to build a brand-new hall on Milkingpen Lane in Old Basing, after the site was previously rendered unusable after flood damage in January 2009.

SEE MORE: Old Basing Scouts appeal for help for new hall

Since then, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are yet to approve planning for a new hall to be built.

Andy Molloy, trustee of The Old Basing Scout and Guide Hall charity, said: “The land was given to us in 1959 by Lord and Lady Camrose. In about 2009 it flooded and since then we have been trying to build a new hall.”

Despite already raising £100,000 they are unable to extend fundraising efforts until planning is approved.

Tom Payne, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s interim executive director of residents’ services, said: “A planning application for the Old Basing Scout Hut was submitted to the borough council in September 2019.

“Further information about the surface water drainage proposals was requested by Hampshire County Council as the lead local flood authority and this information was provided in July 2021.

“As part of the planning application process, further consultation with the county council was undertaken and further information was requested. This additional information was received in December 2021 and in January, the county council confirmed they are satisfied with the surface water drainage proposals."

The council's planning team said it is continuing to assess the application against planning policies and comments made by statutory consultees before making a decision "shortly".

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Andy hopes to complete the hall by May 2025.

He added: “If the leaders had their hall, they could keep all the equipment they use to run the clubs in one place instead of having them all over the place and none of them are meeting in the same place and it is making life more difficult for them all.

“I want to get the kids back onto a base and it would mean they would have a permanent base to help them understand the countryside. If we get planning consent then we can start gearing up but at the moment we can’t move forward.”

The charity is inviting residents to come and join them on March 12 and 13 to help tidy the site to enhance the habitat for wildlife.

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