MAJOR new funding has paved the way for Scouts to turn their dreams of a new headquarters into a reality.

The 1st Knutsford Scout Group has been based on the Moor in Knutsford since 1910, but the current building limits the numbers it can cater for and restricts expansion.

In addition the fabric of the building has deteriorated to the point at which it is no longer viable to continue renovating it, and the aim is to demolish the building and create a new HQ on the same plot of land.

That dream is set to become a reality thanks to a £76,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Anniversary Fund.

Lisa Barcroft-Lee, chairman of 1st Knutsford Scout Group, said: “Along with the recent award of £73,000 from the Veolia Environmental Trust, the £76,000 grant means the next stage of the Scout hut can begin.

“We are now actively planning the demolition and rebuild of the Scout hut, with various invitations to tenders already issued.

“This grant from the Garfield Weston Anniversary Fund means we can now turn our vision for the Scout hut into a reality.

“The hut will make a huge difference to the Knutsford community, not just our existing Beaver, Cub and Scout packs, but all the other organisations that have approached us wishing to use a large, purpose-built community space for their organisations.

“In the short term we are urgently looking at rehoming the troops in temporary accommodation, and are in discussion with a number of organisations which are helping us to achieve that.”

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded charitable grant-making foundation which supports causes across the UK.

The foundation has more than doubled its £5 million anniversary fund to more than £11 million to support 150 charities across UK after overwhelming demand.

The anniversary fund was launched earlier this year to provide funding to charities to improve their existing facilities or provide new ones as part of the foundation’s 60th year.

The trustees took the decision to more than double the fund after receiving 2,300 applications, 60 per cent from charities which had never applied to it before.