A NEW Scout hut, 50 years in the making, has been officially opened in Lymm.

The Maple Lodge building will be home to both the 17th Warrington East (3rd Lymm) Scouts and also Lymm District Guides.

It will also be open to the wider community.

Replacing the old District Guide Hut and 3rd Lymm Scouts headquarters on May Queen Field Drive, off Pepper Street, it was opened with an official ceremony last month followed by a community open day on the following day.

The old buildings had fallen into such a poor state that they were demolished.

The 3rd Lymm Scouts leader, James Hurrell, said: “This is the culmination of more than 50 years of fundraising to deliver a purpose-built scout and guide- owned building.

“Our thanks go out to all the many volunteers who have contributed over the years.

“Our thanks to the many grant bodies who saw the potential in what we were trying to deliver, and also to the residents of Lymm who gave us their support.”

Maple Lodge, which shares its name with the old Guide hut, has two halls, a meeting room and a kitchen, and provides facilities for the current rainbows, Beavers, Brownies, Cubs, Guides, and Scouts groups, as well as for other com - munity groups.

Funding for the £295,000 project came from several sources including Lymm Round Table, Lymm Parish Council, WREN, who awarded £70,000, and The Veolia Environmental Trust, who awarded £35,000.

The latter two grants were awarded through the Land - fill Communities Fund.

The Scout group presented their project proposals to a wide range of community groups including Lymm Parish Council, the Rotary Club, the Round Table and Lions, as well as residents at village events. Overwhelming support was shown for the project.

The executive director of The Veolia Environmental Trust, Paul Taylor, added: “It is great to hear that the new Scout headquarters and community building is opening on Saturday.

“It is an excellent example of how the Landfill Communities Fund can help create facilities such as this and I hope it is used and enjoyed for many years."