COMMUNITY groups in the Tavistock area are celebrating cash boosts in the latest round of National Lottery Awards for All grant allocations ? funding which has now topped the £20 million mark in the South West.

Lewdown Recreation Field and youth sports activities committee is the biggest winner in the district ? the group has been awarded £5,000 towards a new sports pavilion.

Committee member Colin Harris said the group was ?very grateful? for the grant.

?It?s certainly helping us with our pavilion, which will enable us to keep youngsters playing sport in this area,? he said.

Mr Harris said the old pavilion was in such a bad way it had to be demolished.

Now the group is well on the way to achieving the £40,000 required to construct a new building, which will include showers, changing rooms, a kitchen and social area.

?It?s a self-build project ? we are having a lot of help from builders with voluntary labour, which is brilliant,? said Mr Harris, who hoped the pavilion would be up and running next summer.

Horrabridge Recreational Field Trust has also attracted a large grant ? it has been awarded £4,075 which will be used in the construction of a skateboard park at the village recreation field.

Robert Michelmore of the trust said the money would be used to buy a ramp for the park.

The grant is a sizeable proportion of the £8,000 needed to build the facility ? Mr Michelmore said the trust has now nearly reached its target and was anxiously awaiting a planning decision by Dartmoor National Park Authority, expected next month.

Tavistock and District Local History Society has been granted more than £3,000.

This will be spent on cataloguing and displaying the huge collection of photographs and negatives taken by former Times photographer Jim Thorington.

Ken Cook, spokesman for the history society, said: ?Tavistock and District Local History Society and Tavistock Museum committee is delighted to have won a grant of £3,080.

?The money will be used to buy a computer to handle the large collection of some 30,000 photographs left by Jim Thorington which have been kindly given to the society by his widow, Shirley.?

Mr Cook said some of the photos have already been displayed at two recent exhibitions ? a further exhibition is being prepared for December, on a theme of Christmas past and wintertime in Tavistock.

And the Tavistock Gateway Club receives £1,025, which will enable members to take part in a programme of outings.

The Awards for All scheme makes grants between £500 and £5,000 to ?grass roots? community groups and organisations.

Acting senior awards officer, Raymond Moore, said: ?Although more than 50% of those applying for an award are successful, the competition is strong and demand on our budget for the region is higher than ever.?

Mr Moore said the latest round of awards should extend local access and participation, increase skills and creativity and improve quality of life for people in West Devon.

To apply for a grant, call 0845 600 20 40 or visit the website at http://www.awardsforall.org.uk">www.awardsforall.org.uk