DEVELOPMENT work at YMCA Lakeside is progressing well and on schedule for a Spring 2019 unveiling.

The £6.8m scheme will see the site, which has hosted hundreds of thousands of young people over a number of decades, transformed into a centre fit for the future.

Workmen donned their hard hats on the shores of Windermere in April to mark the start of the scheme.

It secured 67 existing staff and created an additional 11 jobs.

And now, with construction well under way on the new build Stoller Campus school facility, a new manager has been found.

Steve Scott, who has developed projects for the YMCA on an international level, has extensive experience of designing social impact projects and overseeing capital developments.

As the founder manager of YMCA Fairthorne Manor in Southall, Steve plans to bring outdoor adventure to a whole new audience and is keen to involve the local community in a range of innovative new projects.

Following some years as an outdoor education instructor in Victoria, Australia, Steve went on to become director at YMCA Camp Jewell in Connecticut, USA.

Most recently Steve headed up a £16m new build YMCA Community Activity Village in Nottinghamshire. This will stand him in good stead for managing the new build at the YMCA Lakeside Newby Bridge site.

Many of the existing buildings on site have been in continual use since the 1940’s and have deteriorated due to lack of funds to reinvest. The new Stoller campus heralds a whole new era for YMCA Lakeside and the entire team is keen to show off the new facilities.

Opportunities for sponsoring a bed within the new facility are still available -with the £200 per bed donation enabling the sponsor to have their name or message on a special glass feature wall within the building.

With more than ten years experience working internationally with the YMCA, Steve was originally a trained architect.

He said he has moved on from working with and admiring great buildings to helping people appreciate the wonder of the great outdoors.