THE announcement of a National Lottery grant literally brought the house down for Lostock Hall Guides.

Members of the five Lostock Hall units, pivtured, are looking forward to saying goodbye to their 25-year-old wooden headquarters and hello to a new purpose-built modern brick building, thanks to a £83,495 grant.

The new Guiding Centre, in Moss Street, Lostock Hall, will be home to the 120 children, who form the one Rainbow, two Brownie, one Guide and one Ranger units.

It will also be used as an adult training centre and meeting place for the adult volunteers who run the Guide Association units.

The local executive committee, which consists of a Friends of Guiding support group and Guiders from neighbourhood Guide units, have held a wide variety of fund-raising events to meet the ever-increasing costs of running the ancient headquarters since they bought the land in 1992. The committee will contribute more than £4,000 to the cost of the new building, in addition to the £18,000 they have spent on buying the land and maintaining the old premises.

Guide leaders hope that special provision for disabled access at the new centre will encourage more disabled children to join the association.

The building will be bigger, which will enable the waiting list of fifty girls to be reduced.

Demolition work should start in September, with the new building ready by January 2000.

Committee chairman Susan Street said: "As a result of the commitment of past and present executive committee members, Guiding in Lostock Hall now has a secure future."

Joan Levey, Lancashire North West County Commissioner, added: "I am sure that this new Guiding Centre will be a valuable asset to the local community."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.