A THRIVING Scout group must march from its HQ after being slapped with a thousand per cent rent hike by a council-backed community centre.

1st Shipley Scouts have been at Windhill Community Centre near Carr Lane for 15 years on an annual rent of just £400 - because of its valued role in a deprived area.

Beavers, cubs, scouts and explorers groups have boomed and it now has spin-off meetings at the neighbouring church and Shipley’s Salvation Army hall - always meeting on Tuesday nights.

But suddenly on April 21, they were told to pay £5,000 a year or move out by May 24.

Centre chairman Gianfranco Sabelli wrote: “Another group would like to book the room on the same night that the Scouts use the Centre.

“In this financial climate we need to make business decisions to make the Centre viable long term.

“The Centre would gain over £5,000 per year from the booking.

“What we would ask is that you match the monies being offered or we can offer you Wednesday or Friday evenings for now and we charge you the rate all groups pay starting September which would give you some time to put in place some financial planning.

“We therefore will have to give the Scouts eight weeks’ notice for the Tuesday evening booking.”

The group’s chairman Les Benton said the letter had come “out of the blue.”

“We felt badly let down. It’s understandable from a business point of view because of the cuts, but perhaps not from a moral point of view.”

He said they hoped to find a new venue at a reasonable price, but many children would miss their old home.