MP backs campaign to save activity centre
BBCCampaigners fighting to reopen the former Scout Dike outdoor activity centre in South Yorkshire have welcomed support from Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball.
The centre has been closed since last year when activity operator Kingswood, which leased the site from Barnsley Council, went into administration.
Over six decades, Scout Dike has hosted thousands of young people and has been used as a base for school, scout and guide trips.
Labour MP Tidball has started a petition calling for the council to allow the community to take over the centre and run it. The authority said it was "reviewing" options for the site.
Campaigners believe the site could be demolished for housing, and said keeping the centre for young people was important.
One of those trying to save the site is former PE teacher Darren Padgett.
He said receiving support from Tidball was a "seal of approval" for the campaign.
Tidball said she wanted young people of the future to enjoy the same opportunities previous generations had got at the centre.
"Scout Dike has been serving communities in Penistone, South Yorkshire and beyond since 1962," she said.
"I'm putting my full weight behind this campaign to ensure the community consortium is given a fair opportunity to demonstrate it can bring the site back to life before Barnsley Council sells it for development."
The centre is built on a World War Two military camp which was bought by the council after the war.
It shut in 2000 but a charity was established to operate it and by 2004 it was being leased commercially. Kingswood took it over in 2006.
The centre had around 120 beds and a swimming pool and offered water sports on Scout Dike reservoir.
The campaigners' vision for Scout Dike is to create a national centre of outdoor excellence which would emphasise the natural environment, land stewardship and food management.
There are also plans to teach trade skills and give practical vocational training.
Nick Stubbs, another partner in the campaign, said he wanted to replicate a similar project he had set up in Jamaica, and said they had received support nationally, including from the chief scout.
Tidball said the site had a future because it had a "rich past".
"Sixty-four years it's been here as a source of joy and adventures for local people growing up in our area, and I want people growing up in our area now to have those opportunities going forward," she said.
Tidball said the government had a national youth strategy which prioritised access to nature for children and young people, and the centre was "ideal" for that.
"It's giving fun to young people [who] might not be able to afford that with their families and have adventure holidays," she said.
"There's a really exciting opportunity here and I really hope local business people also come forward to support the work of our campaign to save it."
Earlier attempts to have the building listed as an asset of community value were rejected, and campaigners are appealing that decision.
Matt O'Neill, Barnsley Council's executive director for place, said: "We continue to review options for the future of the site following previous efforts to secure a sustainable use for the facility.
"No decisions have been taken on the long-term future of the site and there are no plans to demolish the building in the coming weeks.
"We are in the process of obtaining independent legal advice in relation to the appeal so that we can maintain as much separation from the process as possible."
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