A Stevenage scout group displaced by plans to build new homes on the site of their hut has submitted a planning application to erect a marquee in a park.

Planning permission for the development of 57 homes in Shephall View was granted by Stevenage Borough Council in July. It meant the eviction of Stevenage Sea Cadets from the building that had been their home for more than 50 years, and it also displaced 5th Stevenage Air Scout Group.

Now, the scout group has applied to the council to erect a marquee in the grounds of the former Pin Green Play Centre at Hampson Park in Webb Rise.

The marquee, measuring 16 metres x eight metres, would be used for group activities, the application says.

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The Shephall View housing development plans led to a petition that amassed 855 signatures. Stevenage's MP, Stephen McPartland, was also openly critical of the development, saying it "causes massive harm as it evicts both the sea cadets and 5th Scouts Group from their community buildings".

The council says the scheme has been consulted on and adapted "many times" over a two-year period following feedback from the community, and the "overwhelming majority" of people who gave their views supported the development.