A Stevenage scout group has been granted planning permission to erect a marquee in a park as part of their new home.

Dilapidation of buildings, alongside plans to build 57 homes in Shephall View, has meant the 5th Stevenage Air Scout Group was in need of a new home.

The scout group has now been granted permission by Stevenage Borough Council to erect a marquee in the grounds of the former Pin Green Play Centre at Hampson Park in Webb Rise.

The marquee, measuring 16 metres x eight metres, will be used for group activities.

However, the council's planning officer wrote in a decision notice: "The marquee is designed as a temporary structure and should not be seen as a permanent solution to providing additional accommodation for the scouts."

This is to "to enable the Local Planning Authority to reconsider the continued need for and appropriateness of the building and use at the expiration of the limited period".

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The council says the scheme has been consulted on and adapted "many times" over a two-year period following feedback from the community, and the "overwhelming majority" of people who gave their views supported the development.

A spokesperson for Stevenage Borough Council has said: "We have worked tirelessly with both groups to seek suitable accommodation which they have found at the Pin Green Play Centre and we are in the process of signing off the leases."

An earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that 5th Stevenage Air Scout Group​ would be based solely in the tent near Hampson Park.

To clarify, the Scout Group's new home will be at the Pin Green Play Centre, with the tent used for outdoor activities. We apologise for this error.