RESIDENTS in a West Devon village badly hit by the foot and mouth crisis five years ago are in jubilant mood ? they have finally succeeding in gaining funding for a new hall following an eight-year struggle. The village hall management committee at Bridestowe have secured just under £200,000 from Defra to embark on phase one of the long-held dream to bring much needed sports and community facilities to the village. It follows two previously unsuccessful bids for National Lottery funding. Project manager David Porter said villagers had been working ?for eight long years? to achieve a new community facility for Bridestowe. He said he was delighted the Defra grant would mean the project could be completed as early as next summer. ?It is quite a vibrant community, there is a lot going on in Bridestowe even though we have been without a hall for five years,? he said. Defra?s grant together with just over £162,000 raised by the community, including a pledge by New York lawyer Thomas Moore, owner of the title, the Lord of Bridestowe Sanctuary, will cover the total cost of phase one of the scheme. The grant represents a 55%/45% split in terms of the finance arrangements. Phase one will see the creation of a multi-use hall, suitable for a number of different sports; five-a-side football, tennis, badminton and short mat bowls, plus a main hall for large meetings and a stage for amateur theatrical and musical performances. To increase the chances of submitting a successful bid, the committee has split the project into three separate phases. Bridestowe Pre-School is currently housed in the primary school but is looking to expand and phase two will see the creation of purpose-built accommodation at the western end of the hall. Robin Young, chairman of the village hall management committee said there was ?great excitement? among residents now that the scheme had got the go-ahead. He believed the hall would cater for the needs of the whole community from ?cradle to grave? and with the increasing growth of breakfast and after-school clubs he was sure the youngest members of the community would ensure the hall quickly became well-used five days a week. ?The youngsters will go on to the school and hopefully they will remember the hall where it all started.? said Mr Young. It is intended preparatory work on the one acre site in Pool Field ? opposite Bridestowe Garage ? will begin this spring, with the main construction contract starting in the summer, meaning the hall could be open by summer 2007. It is also hoped once the new hall is built, it will be able to alternate with Sourton Village Hall as the venue for the Sourton and Bridestowe Follies? pantomime as did the previous hall in the past. The third phase of the project will involve the landscaping of the area and provision of other items, including the development of a medical centre for the village. The previous village hall closed its doors in 2001 after more than 80 years serving the village and the surrounding areas. It was demolished and homes built on the village centre site. The project is being supported under the English Rural Development Programme by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. Although the Defra funding is only for phase one of the plan, the committee say now the sizable grant has been secured, they will be able to confirm a number of smaller grants from other bodies which will help substantially towards accomplishing the latter phases of the project.
