A NEW era of sporting provision dawned for the village of Winkleigh this week with the opening of a new three-quarters of a million pound-plus multi-sports centre.
The sports complex on the recreation ground includes facilities for table tennis, bowls and snooker as well as two hard surfaces which can also be used for other sports such as netball, football and athletics training.
Representatives of all the village?s sporting groups were on hand at Saturday?s opening, signing up many enthusiastic new members excited at the prospect of using the facilities.
Sports enthusiasts from Winkleigh and the surrounding villages will now be able to use first-rate facilities without having to travel a long distance.
The project was made possible thanks to a grant of nearly £750,000 in Lottery funding, which was made towards the project by Sport England last summer.
A further lottery grant ? this time under the Awards for All scheme ? to benefit the village recreation field was announced last week, which will go towards safety improvements with new soft impact surfacing for the children?s playground area.
Winkleigh War Memorial Recreational Fund was awarded £2,139 in the latest batch of Award for All grants.
Secretary of the project group Tony Dickman said work on improving the surface would not begin until September or October, as it would cause too much disruption to do it during the summer holidays.
Steve Barriball, senior awards officer for the South West, said Awards for All had made grants to 155 organisations in its latest round of awards but was still keen to help more good causes. ?We may not award huge sums of money. Our average award is £3,356, but today there are more organisations who are adding to the wide variety of projects that we have funded and I know how important even a small award can be,? he said.
?Given the strong demand for funding, I am delighted these groups have been successful and wish them well with their work, which I know will be of enormous benefit to local communities throughout the region.?
Mr Dickman said the original idea for the project came six years ago, and the group had carried on believing in the scheme despite the setback of a failed lottery bid in 1999.
Mr Dickman said the much-needed centre would benefit Winkleigh and all the surrounding communities which would also have access to the facilities.
The sports centre was opened by Mr Trevor Smale, chief executive of Torridge District Council. A prize draw was also held with a first prize of a weekend break in Cornwall.
To obtain an eight page Awards for All application form, ring 0845 6002040 or visit the web-site at http://www.awardsforall.org.uk">www.awardsforall.org.uk.
Awards for All welcome applications from all sectors of the community, and all parts of the region.
It is particularly interested in funding people with health, disability or care requirements; black and minority ethnic communities, older people and their carers, young people and children and people who live in the most disadvantaged areas of the South West.