FOLLOWING the letter from Betty Merrett printed in your edition of May 10, 2017, I would like to respond.

I was not in Stroud in the early 1980s so most of the early information is what I have been told.

Although I was cub scout leader at Uplands for about three years in the early 1990s.

The Uplands hut was built on land donated to Uplands Scout Group.

It consists of one room an office, kitchen, store room and toilets and was ideal for the size of the group.

I understand that the group closed because of a lack of leaders and the property sold by the scouts.

I do not know who owns the land now.

Stroud Valley Scout Headquarters is based in Chapel Street, Stroud, not Hollow Lane as mentioned, although the grounds stretch to this.

The headquarters consist of two very large rooms, a good-sized kitchen, office and store rooms.

We also have several outbuildings.

We have an expansive lawn at the back, which is used for outdoor activities and camping.

Our building is not a scout hut but a community building, owned and run by the scouts.

It is used by beavers, two cub packs, scouts, explorers scouts along with other groups including rainbows, brownies, guides, The Marah Trust, Young Carers and music and dance groups on a weekly basis.

We also have many adhoc bookings for birthday parties and other events, such as being used as a polling station.

We have a large plot of land, which is centrally located and used by many community groups.

The land is owned by the scouts and it is only because the buildings are beginning to look tired and the cost of running them and keeping up with maintenance is increasing massively, that we are planning this new build project.

We have consulted with all our users, who like the location, the space and the facilities, but realise that we need a building that is fit for purpose and the growing use that we have.

The Uplands hut would not be big enough for us as a scout group, let alone all our users, and what we can deliver scouting wise would be significantly reduced.

With the closure of Uplands, we have boys and girls from the Top of Town, Thrupp, Uplands, Ebley as well as other areas in Stroud.

I will agree the building mentioned needs putting to use but I do not think it is suitable for our scouting needs.

John M Jones

Acting group scout leader Stroud Valley Scout Group