A MILLION pound bid to the National Lottery is on the cards for a new sports hall and all weather pitch at Tavistock College.

David Inman, West Devon Borough Council's deputy chief executive, told finance committee members last week there had been a commitment to provide an AWP in the town for many years.

A previous Lottery bid, which also included changes to the college sports hall, failed during a glut of applications some three years ago, said Mr Inman.

A new bid would include plans for what Sport England describe as their 'optimum' sports hall, which could be built for £1 million.

But he admitted 'great dollops' of funding totalling £500,000 would be required from the county council, the education department, Tavistock College and local bodies to enable the bid to be submitted.

Mr Inman said if £61,000 was earmarked for the £1.5 million project it would 'get the ball rolling' for a 'really worthwhile' facility.

'It may be a sprat to catch a mackerel but in our view it's one that's well worth trying,' said Mr Inman.

He said an AWP and sports hall would be used by many community groups, in addition to use by the college.

Mr Inman said community use of the Kelly College AWP, currently under construction, would be 'very limited' though he admitted it would not help the bid.

'I am certain we can deal with that when the time is right,' he said.

He said community use of the AWP was extremely important and in this respect, it was 'vitally important' Tavistock Hockey Club was 'on board' with the project.

Cllr Dick Eberlie expressed concerns that TACRA, who manage community use of the College sports facilities, had had financial problems. He warned any organisation taking on similar management of new facilities should be financially solvent.

And Cllr Nicholas Waterhouse said great care should be taken over the on-going revenue situation of such facilities, to avoid being 'permanently in debt'.

The committee gave the thumbs up to a feasibility study into the bid and agreed £61,000 should be earmarked for the project.

John Simes, principal of Tavistock College, said he was 'very optimistic' about the project.

'I can certainly see it happening,' he said.

'The key thing is that Devon County Council and West Devon Borough are working together and we will have a structure in place for community sport that Sport England will find acceptable.

'We already have the Sportsmark award — next year we are going for Sportsmark Gold which will open a further door to access funds and gives tremendous credence with Sport England.'

Mr Simes said the project would dovetail with the College's work as an international language centre and its pioneering Stannary Centre, which working to create a more inclusive school society.

He felt 2004 was probably a reasonable target date for the new facilities.