CONSTRUCTION has started on a new home for Scouts and Guides in Northallerton.

Years of planning by 1st Northallerton Scout and Guide Group have finally resulted in a new site next to County Hall on Boroughbridge Road.

Local firm Moody Construction is carrying out the work to create a building to reunite Rainbow, Beaver, Cub, Brownie, Scout, Guide and Explorer groups on a single site once more.

Work to enhance the site entrance was completed late last year.

Group Scout Leader Duncan Wallace said: “I know that many people in the town and beyond will be as excited as we are that work on this longed-for project is finally underway.

“We are very pleased to be working with a trusted local firm such as Moody and are grateful for the support we’ve had for this project from so many other organisations and individuals over the years.”

Construction director James Moody said: “We’re really pleased to be working with the scout and guide group to help create their new home.

“Our local roots are important to us – I’m the third generation of my family to run the business since it was founded in 1921.”

The building is being built thanks to years of fundraising plus legacies, grants and donations.

But increased costs and a reduction in available grants have in recent years forced a re-think of the scale and design of the building.

Scout and Guide Group Chairman Mark Linthwaite stressed that there was still some key fundraising to be done.

He said: “We have enough money for a basic headquarters, but the fundraising goes on, to pay for extras to enhance the finished project.

“It’s fantastic to have got this far, but now more than ever we need the support of those who value the fantastic opportunities that the scouting and guiding movements offer our young people.

“We really need the community’s ongoing support for this, the home straight.” The new building is expected to be complete in November