Council plans to sell off community asset halted by campaign

Tameside council has put a halt on selling off a community asset following a campaign from a scout group.

The town hall was looking to offload the former Stepping Stones Nursery site on St Anne’s Road in Denton. But the 4th Denton Scout Group wants to make it their new home.

The troop have been in the St Anne’s estate since 1935 and serving generations of local families for more than 90 years.

They have been looking for a new base for their group of more than 100 young people ever since they left the St Anne’s Church site.  When they saw the council was looking to sell the land they took action and started their campaign to stop it.

Explorer leader Chris Dennis said: “The site has been vacant since Covid, so around the end of 2020. The long term goal is to have something, not just for the scouts, but the wider community as well.

“We got in touch with the council. I was surprised by the positive reception we got. They paused all marketing and waited for us to have a look at it. 

“The building is a bit of a jungle at the moment. For the Beavers it would be unsuitable currently.

“We would want to build something permanent there which could be a community asset. It would be closer to us as a St Anne’s estate troop and more convenient. 

“We are in the Tameside Wellness Centre currently. We want to be back in the St Anne’s estate. 

“We would love some proper outdoor space and somewhere that’s ours. Somewhere we can call home, which fits with the Scout movement’s commitment to ‘a place to belong’.”

Chris explained that although they enjoy the indoor facilities at Tameside Wellness Centre, they need space for outdoor activities. Plus they are using other scout troop’s space for storing wet tents and other camping gear after big trips.

They will meet surveyors next week to see if the former nursery site is the right fit for them. If so, they will look to move forward with a bid to make it their permanent home.

A Tameside council spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank the 4th Denton Scout Group for their interest in the former Stepping Stones site in St Anne’s Road in Denton and welcome the opportunity to engage with this further.

“We are arranging to meet with the group to discuss how we can progress their interests. Following the vacation of the site by the previous tenant, we undertook efforts to re-let the building and secure a new occupier. 

“Unfortunately, these efforts did not result in a letting, and the site was declared surplus to operational requirements. We have paused the marketing while we liaise with the 4th Denton Scout Group about their interest.”