MORE THAN £25,000 has been awarded to projects in West Devon by the Big Lottery Fund.

Schemes in Okehampton, Chagford, Bridestowe, Mary Tavy and Whitchurch have all been successful in the latest round of grants from the Awards for All programme.

Home Start West Devon, which is based in Tavistock, will receive £9,998 to open an additional base in Okehampton providing home family support visits to people with children under five years old, group support with drop in sessions and social activities.

Home Start volunteers, sessional staff and trustees will receive training to help reduce family isolation and increase social support networks.

The Treetops project is run by the Bridestowe Pre-School and with £6,605 it will provide an after school club in the village for children aged three to 12 years. It will enable children to take part in creative, practical and educational activities and increase their skills.

Mary Tavy Coronation Hall has won £6,997 to improve energy efficiency and lighting and Chagford Allotment Holders Association aims to improve the security and safety of its allotments by repairing a boundary wall between the site and the surrounding woodland with £1,600.

Increasing children's levels of physical activity and development by providing more outdoor play equipment at Whitchurch Montessori Nursery will be carried out with a grant of £675.

Some 43 projects in the South West have been successful this time. Awards for All offers grants between £300 and £10,000 to social and environmental projects that will benefit local communities and make a difference to the lives of those most in need.

Anna Prosser from the Mary Tavy Coronation Hall committee said a new heating and lighting system would benefit everyone who used the hall already, but would also encourage people to hire it for functions.

'The hall is the focal point for the community and is used by the guides, youth club, parish council and WI and the playgroup three times a week,' she said. 'There are whist drives and war games evenings and most weekends there is a wedding or a party there.

'It is a very busy hall but the lighting and heating desperately needed doing. It's been there since the hall was opened in 1953 and we hope we can get the new system in place for the pantomime in January.'