A DILAPIDATED Scout hut could be redeveloped to provide much needed changing facilities for footballers in Haltwhistle.

The wooden structure hasn’t been used for Scouting purposes for almost eight years, when Haltwhistle’s Scout group folded due to a lack of support.

But since then, the trustees of the Scout group have allowed the building to be used as a makeshift changing room for football teams playing at the nearby Old School Playing Field.

Now footballers will be given free reign of the building, after it was transferred from the Scouts to community ownership. Local county councillor Ian Hutchinson said the hut could be refurbished or even rebuilt, because a covenant which technically restricted its use to scouting activities has now been lifted.

Coun. Hutchinson said: “It is for football in Haltwhistle and also for community use.

“Footballers, including the senior Haltwhistle Jubilee team, are grateful that they have had the use of this building for some time, in the absence of specialist changing facilities.

“This means improvements can be made, which could lead to refurbishment or a rebuild.”

It’s hoped that the hut can be given a facelift to complement other ongoing improvements at the playing field, which is also known as the Burn Field.

Over the past year, the pitch has been resurfaced, while a new drainage system has been installed.

Coun. Hutchinson said the Scout hut scheme has the backing of Northumberland County Council and its leisure arm Active Northumberland.

Haltwhistle town councillor Margaret Forrest, who previously served as secretary and trustee of Haltwhistle Scout group, said: “That hut has served the town well, and the important thing for me is that it benefits this community for many years to come.”