CAMPAIGNERS in Bridestowe are hoping West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett can help them secure Lottery cash for a £400,000 new village hall.

The hall management committee annual meeting last week heard that Lottery allocation rules now meant they would be lucky if they secured half the cash needed for a new building adjacent to the village sporting green.

But the committee hopes Mr Burnett can persuade Culture Minister Tessa Jowell that Bridestowe — severely hit by foot and mouth last year — should be given the full amount.

If not, the committee may set its sights lower and aim for a less ambitious scheme.

Committee chairman Laura Leigh said bids for Lottery cash had twice been rejected although the application was applauded.

But she said there was positive news from New York lawyer Thomas Moore, owner of the title of Lord of Bridestowe Sanctuary, who had pledged £41,000 if the scheme received the go-ahead.

Mrs Leigh said: 'We have been forced to close the hall and render the community without a much-needed amenity.

'But our MP John Burnett remains supportive and will point out the merits of our proposal to Tessa Jowell.'

She added that committee members, many of whom had full-time jobs, had persevered in the face of setbacks.

Sidney Thompson, of the project committee, said it had also been hoped to attract £100,000 from the South West Regional Development Agency but that was rejected on the grounds that there was not enough economic activity in the hall.

But he described Mr Moore's offer as a 'welcome boost that had given much encouragement'.

'We need in excess of £400,000 for core funding and that seems to be beyond the limits of the Lottery,' he said.

Treasurer Michael Jennings said the hall's financial position was better than ever. There had been almost £3,000 in grants sourced by Mrs Leigh from small trusts and efforts by the fundraising committee, headed by Janet Rattenbury, added more than £6,000.

David Porter said the committee had decided to develop a hall on the existing site: 'If we can get the money then that is what we will do,' he said. 'But if we cannot, then the other options are for a small scheme with a new design or the possibility of a new site on the edge of the village — it would release capital because we could possibly sell the existing site for housing.'

The existing aged hall closed for good last October as it was beyond repair.

Detailed plans for a new hall on the site were drawn up by Chagford architect Allen Van Der Steen and approved by West Devon Council.

At an election of officers after the meeting, Mr Porter replaced Mrs Leigh as chairman by eight votes to six. Mrs Leigh, who was chairman for five years, immediately resigned from the committee.

Mrs Gill Squires stood down as secretary and was succeeded by Alison Young.