BERKSWELL residents are being asked to dig deep for an appeal to build a new scout hut.
The 53rd Coventry Scout Group, based in Berkswell, are urging local people to help raise nearly £160,000 by the end of the year to fund the new building.
For more than 50 years the Berskwell Scouts, Beavers and Cubs Group has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of local children from Berkswell, Balsall Common, Burton Green and areas to the west of Coventry.
But the old Scout Hut, which was built in the 1960s is now too small for the number of young people who want to join, has high upkeep costs, and does not meet the disability requirements.
Bob Tabb, Berkswell Group Scout Leader, said: “For the modern youth of today we need a modern building.
“We have outgrown our existing one and now need a building with extra meeting rooms and storage facilities to meet the needs of our expanding membership.”
Planning permission for the new building has been granted by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and the scouts have already raised nearly £230,000 of the £390,000 required.
But with £160,000 still left to raise by the end of the year, local residents can get involved and buy a brick for the building.
The Berkswell Scout House Brick Appeal allows people to purchase a brick, to which they can add their name and message or memory which will be visible from the inside of the new building.
Forms can be found at the library in Balsall Common, John Taylor and Sons Butchers in Balsall Common, or can be downloaded from www.berkswellscouts.org.uk – the Berkswell Scouts website.
