BOOKINGS?are already being taken for what has been dubbed a 'fanatstic facility' for sport in?Okehampton.

The town's long awaited sports pavilion, being built in a central position between the all-weather pitch, rugby pitch, cricket square and tennis courts, should be up and running by next summer.

Stuart Lord, from Okehampton Community Recreation?Association, said the project had received a 'great kick-start' from community groups.

Construction on the project started in?October. The pavilion will provide changing rooms, toilets, storage space for sports clubs, a social area, and office space for sport and community development projects.

It will also act as a hub for town sporting events such as the annual Okehampton Sports Festival, and offer a viewing area for spectators.

Mr?Lord said: 'Midas are now on-site and cracking on with the work. We still need to secure the last bit of funding to complete the work, but we are on target to get the hub up and running by the end of May.

'We are already taking bookings, and there has been lots of positive interest. The hub will provide another fantastic facility for sport in Okehampton.'

Another exciting project is the potential development of Okehampton's skate park at Brayhams Terrace. Okehampton Skate Group — a body of young people interested in skating, have been fundraising for four years to incorporate new ramps and stairs made out of concrete into the existing skate park facility to add variety and provide a range of levels for all youngsters.

They are looking over proposals at the moment, with a formal planning application expected in the near future.

The exciting projects follow what has been a wonderful year of sport at local level, with the town hosting the Devon Games to Inspire, welcoming the Tour of Britain cycle race and the Olympic torch, which passed through Okehampton's streets.

Mr Lord added:?'The Devon Games to Inspire were amazing this year. Having 2,000 young people here competing was a great sight, and the amazing feedback we received about Okehampton as a sporting venue was very encouraging.

'But my personal highlight was the Primary School Olympics, where hundreds of local children took part in sporting events.

'The willingness of local organisations like the Rotary Club, the Lions and others to get involved and organise events for children was wonderful.'

But one project that has stalled is Okehampton Rugby Club's search for new training pitches. The club has been searching for a place for the youth teams to train after they were ordered to stop using land at Brightley earlier this year.

John Shields, chairman of the club's pitches sub-committee said: 'Things don't happen fast I am afraid, so the hunt for new pitches goes on. We are still working on it, but these things can take some time.

'The club has been doing excellently this year, apart from this recent weather. As you'd imagine, everyone is ready to go, and yet we have waterlogged pitches. It's the same situation both at home and away games.

'The problem is exaggerated by our lack of pitches to a point, but this weather is unprecedented. Lots of other clubs are having this problem.

'Hopefully, things can move forward and we will have some news on more pitches for the club in the new year.'

As part of the pavilion project, OCRA is looking to improve the quality of Okehampton College's pitches in an effort to alleviate the pitch shortage.

To find out more about sport in the area, call OCRA on 01837 54546 or visit http://www.ocrasport.org.uk">www.ocrasport.org.uk