Scout Dike: MP backs call to stop children’s outdoor activity centre being sold for housing
An MP is backing a campaign to stop a former outdoor activity centre known to generations of schoolchildren being sold off to hosuing developers.
Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball said selling off the Scout Dike site in Penistone would "snuff out" opportunities for future generations.
She said: “Scout Dike deserves a bright future, and so do young people across our communities.”
For decades Scout Dike was a residential outdoor and activity base for thousands of schoolchildren, Scouts, and Guides, with watersports available on the reservoir. Following the collapse of the operator Kingswood, which ran it from 2006 to 2025, the lease was handed back to Barnsley Council.
The cash-strapped council recently rejected a bid by campaigners Nick Stubbs and Darren Padgett to make it an asset of community value, which prevents hasty open-market sales. They’ve appealed, with a decision expected by mid-August.
Darren, a former head of PE, says adults still have vivid memories of the trips, including the flapjacks in the packed lunches and the walks over the moors. He said: "People remember one week out of five years – it sticks in their heads. Kids used to think they came to a different planet but it was just nine miles away from school.
"We introduced them to kayacking, sailing, offroad cycling which was new back in the 1980s."
They now want to reimagine the site as a "school for life" for youngsters "who have fallen through the cracks, to give them the skills they need and then everyone wins".
Darren added: "We want to teach them about the world, the environment, growing your fruit and veg, just learning how the world works. A multi-generational centre of excellence, with adults passing their skills to kids. We want to make it a flagship – a model for lots of different Scout Dikes across the country."
Nick said: "Labour is trying to force through changes to make it easier for us to acquire an asset for the community, but we are not quite there yet.
"I hope they (the council) do the right thing and accept what we are trying to achieve and everything we have lined up behind this. I also understand the realities of what the council is up against, the shortfall they need to fill. I want to work collaboratively with the council to sort this out.”
The MP said a reopened centre aligns with Government priorities, including the National Youth Strategy.
She has raised the issue in Parliament and written to four Ministeries “to seek advice on how we can work together to take this campaign forward”. Barnsley Council was approached for comment.