MP backs community campaign to save Scout Dike Activity Centre

Marie Tidball MP, the Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has met campaigners Nick Stubbs and Darren Padgett as part of their campaign to bring Scout Dike Activity Centre into community hands and secure its future for generations of young people.

Marie met Nick and Darren in August at Scout Dike, where they discussed their plans for a community-led future for the site and the next steps in their campaign. The local MP also saw the centre boarded up following its closure.

Scout Dike has served communities in Penistone, across South Yorkshire and beyond since 1962, providing outdoor learning and activities for generations of children and young people.

Marie previously visited the centre in 2024, when she saw first-hand the opportunities it provided for young people to experience the outdoors, develop confidence and life skills, and engage with the local countryside.

Nick and Darren are campaigning for the site to be brought back into use under community ownership and have pressed Barnsley Council to recognise Scout Dike as an Asset of Community Value as part of their efforts to secure a community future for the centre.

Marie has backed their campaign and has launched a petition calling on Barnsley Council to pause plans to demolish and sell the site while the community is given a fair opportunity to demonstrate that it can bring Scout Dike back to life.

The MP has also previously raised Scout Dike in Parliament, highlighting the opportunities the centre could provide for outdoor learning and calling for support to protect valuable community assets.

Marie Tidball MP said:

“It was great to meet Nick and Darren and hear more about how they’re working to bring Scout Dike into the community’s hands. It was incredibly sad to see this fantastic site boarded up and shut down.

“When I last visited Scout Dike in 2024, I saw first-hand the brilliant experiences and opportunities it provided for young people. Scout Dike has been serving Penistone, South Yorkshire and communities further afield since 1962, and I want future generations to have those opportunities too.

I’m calling on Barnsley Council to make Scout Dike an Asset of Community Value and pause its demolition plans. I’m working closely with the campaigners so that we can give this invaluable community asset the future it deserves.

“As such, I’m putting my full weight behind Nick and Darren’s campaign. The community consortium deserves a fair opportunity to show that it can restore Scout Dike to its former glory and make it even better before any irreversible decisions are taken about the future of the site.”

Nick Stubbs and Darren Padgett said:

“Scout Dike has always been a place where young people grow in confidence, discover the outdoors, and build lifelong skills.

“Our community consortium has developed a practical plan rooted in five pillars - outdoor education, land stewardship, social agriculture, trade skills and transgenerational leadership - to bring the site back into use for everyone.

“We are grateful for Marie’s support and simply ask for the chance to demonstrate what a community‑led future can deliver before any irreversible decisions are made.”

Residents can support the campaign by signing Marie’s petition at www.marietidball.com/campaigns/SaveScoutDike.

Anyone interested in supporting Nick and Darren’s work or getting involved with the community consortium can contact Marie at marie.tidball.casework@parliament.uk.