AN AWARD-winning landlady trying to open up the New Forest's first self-catering accommodation for acutely handicapped people is furious that her plans have been rejected because of possible band practice at a nearby Scout hall.

Mary Lewis is also telling the national planning overlords that there is no scout band at the hall near her home at Lodge Road, Pennington.

"They never have had a band and haven't even got any Boy Scouts at the moment. The hall is only used by cubs and beavers," said Mrs Lewis, who has already won top awards for the way she looks after her disabled guests at Our Bench, Lodge Road, Lymington.

Mary and her husband Roger, who are both anxious to be on good terms with the Scouts after supporting the movement for many years, wanted to build the New Forest's first self-catering facility for grade one disabled people.

"It would have had everything for disabled people - the hoists and all the other facilities," she said.

She was so determined to see the project through that she lodged an objection with the Department of the Enviro-nment, Transport and the Regions after New Forest Council had decided it might spoil the character of the area and disturb neighbours.

She had the support of the Southern Tourist Board, various disabled organisations, two GPs and blind and deaf people.

But when he considered her appeal, government inspector Edward Hitchings decided the people staying at the new annexe could be disturbed by band practice from the nearby Scout hall.

"There is evidence," he said, "that the use of the Scout hall for a band practice weekly resulted in complaints on behalf of the occupiers of No. 9 Lodge Road (Mr and Mrs Lewis).

"As a direct result, the Pennington Scout Group have avoided using or letting the hall for any especially noisy functions."

The complaints stemmed from a rock group renting the hall for practice sessions and not from a Scout band.

The Scouts lodged an objection to the scheme on the grounds that it could curtail their fund-raising activities by letting them hire the hall to bands for practice sessions or running discos.

New Forest South Scouts' district commissioner Jonathan Swindley said he had been unaware of the objection by the group until the result was revealed this week.

"I have spoken to our county office regarding the way to go and I will be meeting the group executive to see what the reasoning was behind the objection," he said.

He added that he had been made aware of complaints over noise from the Scout hall.

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