THE Millennium Festival Awards have come up trumps for groups in the Yelverton area.

An ambitious fundraising campaign to provide a new building for a Horrabridge playgroup had a welcome £5,000 cash boost from the scheme this week.

Horrabridge Busy Bees, which meets every morning in the village's Methodist Hall, aim to find £45,000 for premises to put on land set aside at Horrabridge Primary School.

Chairman Jill Sergeant said she was 'delighted' with the grant.

'We are very close to our target now and obviously this is a big help towards it,' she said.

Mrs Sergeant said the playgroup has been fundraising for about five years and now needs just £5,000 to buy their premises.

'It's got to the point where it's difficult to keep on asking for money — this has given us a real boost. We are also in the process of applying to Children in Need,' she said.

Once the Busy Bees move to the school site, they hope to open during the afternoons and also run a lunchtime club.

The thriving group, which is celebrating a very successful Ofsted inspection, now has around 28 children on its books.

Just up the road in Yelverton, a scheme to provide youngsters with their own purpose-built playpark received a £5,000 grant.

The park, to be constructed on land donated by Maristow Estate at Leg o' Mutton, should be open by July next year.

Brian Medhurst of Yelverton community projects committee said: 'It's an exciting project and with this award we are effectively there — we have £24,500 of the £25,000 target now.'

The play park will include swings for younger children, more active equipment for middle range youngsters and an adventure trail and the committee also plan a seven-a-side football pitch.

'We've had quite a few local fundraisers — we had junior discos where over 100 came each time, which shows there are a lot of local kids and they are the ones that will be using the play park.

'The activities had been of twin benefit because by involving them it promotes what we are doing,' Mr Medhurst said.

And groups in Tavistock have also struck lucky with awards.

Tavistock Goosey Quilters were given a grant of £583 to help pay for a Millennium quilting exhibition, and Tavistock's Air Cadets have been granted £1,945 which has been put towards purchase of a squadron flight simulator.

Phil Newcombe of Tavistock ATC said: 'We are delighted. The grant will enable us to fly into the Millennium with the latest technology.

'I hope we will be training cadets on the simulator for many years to come.'