THE committee struggling to raise funds for a new village hall in Whitchurch has received a setback, after national lottery assessors turned its bid for funds down.

Whitchurch Village Hall management committee has been working hard for many years to raise cash for a new hall. Through a big community effort the committee has collected more than £43,000 — but hall trustees were hoping the Lottery would provide the lion's share of the total required.

Dick Spackman, hall trustee and churchwarden, said the £150,000 application went through to the second round of the consideration process but got no further.

Mr Spackman said the committee was told any further application should include greater community involvement and identify further local users of any new hall.

He said: 'We have been trying to find out exactly what they mean by that. At the end of the day we have raised over £43,000 so far within the community.

'We have two WI groups using the hall, Tavistock Ladies' Gardening Club, the Over 60s, Whitchurch Players and Dancers — we've got a fair variety of users so it's difficult to know what they mean by more community involvement.'

Mr Spackman said the committee would need to 'put their thinking caps on' and identify other services a new hall could provide for the community.

He said: 'This is where being physically part of Tavistock makes it difficult. A lot of groups are already catered for elsewhere in the town, they're not necessarily going to up-sticks and go somewhere else.

'We are going through the process of re-applying but it's trying to sort out exactly what they are looking for. What we don't want to happen is to get turned down again, because a lot of enthusiasm then goes away.'

Mr Spackman said people in Whitchurch were still 'very anxious' to see a replacement hall in the village.

'It's been there nearly a hundred years and it's got to the point where it's not cost-effective to do things to it. Also, as it deteriorates, people are not so inclined to use it.

'It desperately needs replacing and that's why people keep buying tickets for the 50/50 club and supporting events,' said Mr Spackman, who added that a second application would take around six months to process.

John Burnett, West Devon and Torridge MP, who has supported the campaign to build a replacement hall in the village, said: 'I'm afraid part of the problem is the Dome. It's taken huge amounts out of the Lottery system, it's a confounded nuisance.

'Nevertheless, I believe there is great sympathy for Whitchurch but they want to see rather more information about the community benefit that the hall would provide; they really want it spelled out and there's no doubt it will be of huge benefit.'

Mr Burnett said he was 'very confident' a second application would be successful.

'It's a tremendous tribute to the people of Whitchurch that they have raised a quarter of the money they need and that scores very highly in terms of Lottery success,' he said.