OKEHAMPTON Town Council has allocated £1,500 of gift aid to three local organisations to help benefit the community.

The council have decided to donate £500 to the Get Changed Theatre Company, Okehampton Community Recreational Association and the Okehampton Battle of the Bands respectively.

Get Changed Theatre Company is a charity founded in 1995 and is the only theatre company in Devon for adults with learning disabilities and mental health problems.

They run a continuous programme of drama and education projects, leading to performances in the wider community. They have 25 members, coming from Oke-hampton, Hatherleigh, North Tawton and the surrounding area. Fourteen families from Okehampton benefit from the respite Get Changed provide, and the whole community can benefit from the performances, which raise awareness of the challenges and prejudices those in the company face daily.

Cllr Christine Marsh said: 'The work that the charity does is very important, and having spoken to people involved with the charity, those helped by the company absolutely love it.'

OCRA also received a £500 grant from the council. The charity aims to maintain and develop sporting and recreational opportunities for Okehampton and the surrounding area through the development of facilities, diverse programme of sporting activities and training. They deliver the 'Active Villages' scheme to the local area, and played a pivotal role in securing brand new play equipment for Simmons Park earlier this year.

Cllr Kay Bickley described the grant to OCRA as: 'Total value for money!'

The Okehampton Battle of the Bands received a £500 grant to go towards putting on the annual music event. The eight year-old competition accept applications from all ages covering all musical genres, with the heats leading up to the 'Party in the Park' finale. The contest is not for profit and relies on grant aid, sponsorship and donations to run.

The three organisations received the first allotment of grant money following the election of new town mayor Cllr Maureen McDonald.

The council has allocated £10,000 to be distributed to local organisations and charities over the coming year, and will regularly review grand aid applications. There will be a cap of a £500 maximum amount the council will grant from this £10,000 allocation, in an effort to spread the money as fairly and wisely as possible.