PLANNING consent has been sought for a £500,000 project to improve hockey facilities for the Tavistock community — and create a teaching ground for the sport which could nurture the hockey stars of the future.

In a joint venture between Mount Kelly School and Tavistock Hockey Club, a community interest company, plans have been submitted for a new hockey pitch and hockey pavilion at the former Kelly College Preparatory School site.

The scheme will give the hockey club its own dedicated state-of-the-art astro pitch — the club has been renting Mount Kelly's existing pitch since it sold its old grass pitch in Grenville Drive for housing many years ago.

'It's a terrific project,' said Keith Hollinshead, the Mount Kelly governor with responsibility for sport.

'The hockey club is providing the funds and we are providing the site. It's the best of both worlds because the club will have its own facility and the school will get the use of the pitch to develop hockey at the college.

'Hockey features as part of the curriculum and we think we do ok but we would like to take it to an elite level if we possibly can — the way we have done with swimming.'

Former Olympian swimming star Sharon Davies was a pupil of the former Kelly College and the school has produced many other swimming champions.

The hockey pitch will be installed on the former Kelly Prep School site, which became vacant after Mount House School and Kelly College merged earlier this year.

Mr Hollinshead said: 'What with the new pitch and the employment of Ben Edge, who is a prominent Welsh hockey international as our head of PE, we believe the future looks good.

'We would love to be able to open the facility up to other schools in the area and create a teaching ground for hockey. We plan to be as much a part of the community as we can.'

Tavistock Hockey Club chairman Philip Honey said the hockey club was going from strength to strength, with around 60 members and 40 juniors — and the numbers were increasing year on year.

'We have junior teams in the Plymouth league and they are doing very well,' he said.

'This project is starting to come to fruition after many years of discussion. We sold off our grass pitch years ago and since then have been investigating ways of having our own astro pitch facility.

'The existing pitch at Mount Kelly is around 15 years old and since then technology has changed.

'We will have a fantastic up-to-date facility that is more bespoke to us — but it is not just Tavistock Hockey Club that will benefit — this is part of a much wider project which will benefit the whole community.

'There will be a much stronger school/club link with an academy style structure built around it. It will also enable Mount Kelly to really market itself as a specialist hockey school.'

The hockey pavilion, which will include changing facilities and a clubhouse, will be subject to Sport England funding.

Chairman of the directors of Tavistock Hockey Club Rodney Hodge said: 'We are negotiating with Mount Kelly about this pitch and the planning application is the first stage of this process.

'We are looking forward to further co-operation with the school.'

West Devon Borough Council said the planning application for the hockey pitch and pavilion will be determined in the New Year.

The last date for people to make representations on the application is Thursday, December 11.