AN ongoing programme aimed at attracting thousands of pounds of funding into the Tavistock area took a step forward last week with the publication of a new action plan.

Markets, Moors and Meadows ? Action for Community Initiatives is the product of months of hard work by the Tavistock and Villages Initiative Group (TAVI).

More than 300 copies of the plan are being distributed to local organisations, councils and councillors and community groups for their comments.

Christopher Kirwin, chairman of TAVI, said he was ?very pleased? with the action plan as it stood at present: ?We?re now keen to get on and publish the final plan in mid-May, following this next round of consultation.

?We do hope all the people who receive copies of the plan make their comments ? it?s there for them to improve.?

Mr Kirwin said the closing date for the consultation is April 30. The plan will be formally published in May, ready to go forward to a ?brokering table? on June 16.

He said he was optimistic some of the projects would attract funding from agencies which would attend the brokering meeting, such as English Heritage and the Rural Development Agency.

He added that the action plan was not just about attracting funding for projects.

?That?s one strand of our activities ? we are also searching for projects which will help our sustainability; in other words, things which will make money themselves.?

The action plan has been drawn up over two years, building on vital work carried out by Tavistock Forward and village appraisals in the area.

It includes dozens of projects in several different areas, such as economy and employment, environment, transport, cultural, media, sports and leisure, older people and younger people. They are based in Tavistock and surrounding villages.

Some projects in planning stages include an annual food festival in Tavistock, renovation of the Lopwell pumping station, redevelopment of a derelict site in Princetown, improved lighting in the historic centre of Tavistock, re-opening of the Tavistock to Plymouth railway, building a new village hall in Lamerton and installing central heating at Lydford village hall.

Other projects fall into ?concept phases?. These include flat-bottom boat trips on Tavistock Canal, improvements to village sports fields, the establishment of a training farm at Princetown, extension of the Tavistock relief road, self-build housing schemes and a community action shop.

Andrew Young, TAVI market towns development co-ordinator, said the agencies attending the brokering meeting would not be arriving on June 16 with an open cheque book. However, projects already underway could be strengthened through the process, and others could be kick-started.

?We are going to find a suitable range of visitors that would be interested by these projects, we invite them to brokering and at the same time we give them a copy of the action plan, so they can see these projects in context,? said Mr Young.

Members of the public who would like to see the action plan can find a fast-loading, printer-friendly version at http://www.tavi.org.uk">www.tavi.org.uk

The same version is available as a free CD from the TAVI office at 20 Plymouth Road, Tavistock.