Scouts from throughout Dorchester and West Dorset will be able to enjoy a new centre in Crossways for outdoor activities.

Planning permission has been granted for a building on a former landfill site at Brownjohn Copse, off Redbridge Road, an area which the Scouts have been using for activities.

The steel-framed building will be almost 19m by 12m and just short of 4m to the eaves.

The application to Dorset Council was submitted on behalf of Dorchester and West Dorset Scouts for the site which has been used, until now, only for camping and outdoor events for the organisation.

The building will include a hall, kitchen, toilets and dormitories for Scout jamborees and cook outs, with a covered walkway and disabled access. It will be finished in timber cladding, have anthracite- coloured uPVC windows and a box profile insulated composite panel roof.

A planning agent's statement said: "The proposal seeks to mitigate any problems in regard to bad weather and make the best use of the site for local groups and any fundraising and events."

The site is in a wooded area between the solar farm and the quarry.

During the consultation stage, the organisation slightly repositioned the proposed building to ensure better protection for trees and a hedgerow. The building will be largely shielded from view by surrounding trees.

Dorset Wildlife Trust has asked that external lighting be used which is less intrusive than conventional lighting to help bats which are likely to roost and forage in the area.

New shelter approved at Beaminster Scouts site

An open-sided shelter has been agreed for the Beaminster Scout site, opposite the Holy Trinity burial ground.

The site is about a third of a mile north of Beaminster Square and close to the Mountjoy and Beaminster Schools site.

A previous shelter had been removed when the new Scout headquarters was built in 2020/21.

Its replacement, 7.5 metres by 3.1 metres and 2.1 metres tall, which will be constructed on the west side of the main building, will be made of timber with a olive green-coloured metal roof.

Councillors on the area planning committee unanimously agreed the shelter.

The application had only come before the committee because the overall site is owned by Dorset Council.