A HOMELESS Scout group says it is at crisis point and is appealing to landowners to help it to survive.

1st Davenham Scouts has been running since 1931 but said its days are numbered if it cannot build a hall in the village.

A statement sent to the Guardian by the group said: "Any opportunity to secure suitable land has to be chased.

"We are fighting to keep our Scout group alive.

"When it is lost to the village people will be asking why couldn't a solution be found and why did we leave any stones unturned?"

The group was made homeless in 2009 when the church hall, in Church Street, flooded and was condemned.

Since then it has been split with Beavers meeting at Davenham CE Primary School, Cubs at the Moulton Adventure Group building in Moulton and Scouts in a barn in Bostock.

Its statement said: "The group has offered a variety of youth activities since 1931 but if is does not find a home we could soon see the end of a group that has served three generations of villagers in Davenham."

In 2011 the Scouts submitted draft plans to Davenham Parish Council proposing to use a small portion of council land on Butchers Stile to build a hall with a badminton court, changing rooms for the football club and parking for 50 cars, leaving space for a full sized football pitch and two smaller ones, but these plans were turned down.

Members of the group attended the latest Davenham Parish Council meeting and appealed for the council to urgently reconsider its stance.

Cllr Dave Ravenscroft said: "I know the field well and I don't want to pour cold water but if you were to build a substantial building there just isn't room for a football field as well."

He also said there was no room to widen the access to the field from Mount Pleasant Road for vehicles.

Cllr Katie Mattinson, vice chairman of the council, said: "We understand because a lot of us have children within the Scouts or the Guides but there's not an easy solution.

"We need to try to work together."

The Scout group said: "Presently Scouting in the UK is growing in popularity, and Cheshire has followed this trend.

"In the past five years, unfortunately, Scouting in Davenham has been hanging on and is now at crisis point.

"Davenham Scout Group are now making an urgent appeal to landowners in Davenham to ask them to provide them with a small area to build a Scout Hall on."

They added: "It will be tragic to lose such a strong formative influence for our children.

"Scouts learn life skills and are helped to be citizens contributing to their community.

"Many of our villagers were Scouts themselves and we hope to secure the opportunity for many more to do so in the future."

Anyone who can help should email davenhamscoutgroup@hotmail.co.uk or ring 07745 652665.