AFTER a decade of frantic fundraising, scouts in a Suffolk town are this week enjoying the benefits of a new £400,000 hall.The 1st Kesgrave scout group began planning the new hall back in 1994 but have only just been able to make the move into the new two-storey, fully equipped building.

AFTER a decade of frantic fundraising, scouts in a Suffolk town are this week enjoying the benefits of a new £400,000 hall.

The 1st Kesgrave scout group began planning the new hall back in 1994 but have only just been able to make the move into the new two-storey, fully equipped building.

Celia Comber and her husband Alan have been leaders of the Kesgrave group for more than 18 years and have watched the project materialise.

Mrs Comber said: "We really are very excited. It's been a long, slow process to get to where we are now and it's great to finally be moving in.

"We've worked very hard to raise the money over the course of the last ten years and we couldn't have done it without the support of an awful lot of people.

"Even once the hall was built we had teams of families in here who spent hours helping with the painting and decorating."

With two large halls, a computer room, a large store room, office and activity area, the plush new hall will be the hub of the 1st Kesgrave scout group's activities.

The group are one of the biggest in the county with 187 members at the last count.

Local guides, brownies and beavers will also use the hall, along with a number of other community groups and clubs.

The new hall, in Rupert Fison Square, replaces the existing one off Ropes Drive which will continue to be used by other community groups.

A weekend of official opening activities is planned for May 8 and 9, and the group are hoping to arrange a reunion of Kesgrave scouts, old and new.

Anyone who has been involved with the Kesgrave scout movement at any time, and would like to get involved, should visit the group's website: www.kesgravescouts.org.uk