THE Ockment Centre trustees and staff have announced they have been successful with two local grants to finish the refurbishment of the large hall.

Okehampton United Charities have given funding of £5,235 to cover a new heating system and a shed for hall storage, while West Devon Borough Council has contributed £6348.30 to cover all the decoration costs such as painting the hall, sanding and re-varnishing the floor, putting in new blinds and replacing old furniture.

The centre is teaming up with the DD&C Community Payback Scheme to get some of the painting done. It is using local companies Barkwell Plumbing and Heating, Peter Green Wood Products and Westward Flooring to do the work. DIY Supplies in Okehampton have also given decorating advice.

Jenny Hopkins of the Ockment Team said: ‘We would like to thank Okehampton United Charities and West Devon Borough Council for their support. The help they are giving us means that we can finish our hall refurbishment project which was started in 2014 with local fundraising to start replacing the windows.

‘We now have a new roof and new windows and the new heating and decoration will complete the job. Local people will now have a fabulous hall with kitchen to hire for their private functions and events and the local community groups who use the hall on a regular basis will be so much more comfortable this winter in a warm and welcoming space.

‘We would like to thank our regular hall users for being so flexible during each stage of the project when they have temporarily been moved to other rooms.’

The Ockment team is pressing ahead to try to get as much of the work completed as possible within the summer period when the centre is quieter with its bookings before things get busy again in September.