THE 'devastating' news of the failure of a second lottery application for a new scout hut in Okehampton has put a cloud over the future of scouting in the town.
With a leaky roof, rotten floor, freezing conditions and a rat problem the 40-year-old building will not be inhabitable next winter, said fundraising chairman Gail Partridge.
Mrs Partridge and her band of volunteers have been working hard for three-and-a-half years to raise vital funds for new premises for the cubs, beavers and scouts.
With a donation of £3,037 from the Okehampton Wailers' Club the scouts' kitty has risen to £12,000 but the fund is many thousands of pounds away from a new hall.
The organisation was optimistic that the lottery bid for £63,000 would be successful this time after it progressed to the second stage.
'We thought we had cracked it and we would have a scout hut for the millennium,' said Mrs Partridge. 'When I got the letter saying we had failed again I was absolutely devastated.
'We are now in a really desperate situation — for the boys to get as much out of scouting as they should we need much better facilities.'
Parts of the building are uninhabitable and the boys no longer have an activities room to do their badge work.
Mrs Partridge said many of the activities had to be held off until the summer so they could be done outside.
'Scouting is part of the history of Okehampton — we have traced it back as far as 1911,' she said.
'The boys learn so many skills, including social skills like team work and with the town expanding all the time we can provide somewhere for the youngsters to go.'
More than 50 youngsters are in the organisation and that number is expected to rise in the coming years.
Many of the ideas such as a mother's day lunch and social evening for parents could not be carried because of the inadequate facilities at the hall.
Mrs Partridge said the boys raised funds themselves but large amounts of money were hard to find. She was, however, grateful for all the donations from organisations and individuals in the community which had helped the cause.
She added: 'We are really at a loss to what to do next.
'We are thinking about putting in another lottery bid but that's another 12 or 18 months down the line and even then we might be in the same situation.'
The lottery board did not give a reason why the bid failed but it often depended on what funds were available, how many applications there were and the largest area of deprivation at the time, Mrs Partridge said.
'It's the luck of the draw — like the lottery itself.'
Mrs Partridge is appealing to anyone who has knowledge of other funding sources to contact her.
'If there are any ex members of the scouts out there who would like to make a donation and put something back to help future generations we would be so grateful,' she said.
'At the moment it's like going round and round on a roundabout unable to get off. We have the planning permission and we are ready to go, it's just the money that is stopping us.'
Mrs Partridge can be contacted on 01837 53826.