THE liveliness and fighting spirit of a town battling back from the foot and mouth crisis impressed Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael when he visited Okehampton last Thursday.

The minister arrived in Okehampton after spending time at the Devon County Show. He was given a tour of regeneration projects in the town before visiting the youth hostel and taking a ride on the steam-driven Dartmoor Pony from Okehampton's railway station.

The recent Waitrose development, town centre enhancement schemes and the proposed expansion to the Exeter Road Industrial Estate were some of the projects highlighted.

The minister was also shown the Ockment Centre and its £1-million development plans and the investment made recently in pubs in the town such as the Fountain Hotel and the Exeter Arms.

Mr Michael, who met representatives from West Devon Borough Council, Okehampton Chamber of Trade, town organisations and Okehampton mayor Christine Marsh, said people in the town were thinking positively about making the most of opportunities to attract business back following foot and mouth.

One of the projects to which his attention was drawn was the climbing wall at Okehampton Youth Hostel which was installed to attract more visitors when foot and mouth prevented its usual outdoor activities on Dartmoor.

With financial assistance from the borough council, Okehampton Youth Hostel was seen to be helping itself amid the crisis.

'Okehampton may be small but it gives the impression of being very lively and forward thinking,' he said. 'Whilst recognising the problems of the last few months, It realises the need to look to the future.'

He said a shared vision of how the town should develop and a good sense of team spirit would help Okehampton greatly in its bid for regeneration funding under the South West RDA's Market and Coastal Towns Initiative.

But chief executive of the borough council David Incoll is pressing for funding now to help struggling businesses get through the winter.

He said: 'Mr Michael could see there was a lot of good things happening in the Okehampton area but obviously with the difficulties caused by foot and mouth many businesses do not have any money in the bank and need Government help to get through the winter.'

Mr Incoll said perhaps the difference between Devon and other parts of the country affected by foot and mouth was that despite all the problems, people here still wanted to move on and try and make a success of their businesses.

'I think the Government is more inclined to work with people who are positive, and fortunately Mr Michael has been well briefed on the problems here because his private secretary comes from the Okehampton area,' he said.

The DEFRA minister was once a youth worker and has a background in community and regeneration work.

Mr Incoll added that on a return visit to the area he would like to take him to a local farm so he could gauge the difference between Devon's many small farms and larger farms in Dorset or Cumbria and their individual needs.

l There is a difference in the amount of money given by Central Government to Scotland and Wales compared with England. Figures show the Scottish Tourist Board receives £3.77 per head, the Welsh Tourist Board, £4.03 and the English Tourism Council receives 20p per head.