THE first sod of turf was dug on Wednesday, May 18, by a Devon County Councillor to mark the beginning of the long awaited works on the Lifton Community Centre.

It has been many years in the planning and finally, the community were able to come together to witness the first bit of ground being dug up before the digger could get stuck in to clear the site to prepare for what promises to be a ‘fantastic’ community site.

John Dyke, trustee of the Lifton Community Centre project, said: “We have been trying to get this project off the ground since about 1994.

“The plot of land, which is approximately half an acre, was purchased we think for £1 and was signed over to the trustees in 2006 for community use.

“We couldn’t proceed with the plans set in place until we had signed for the land, but later decided as a group that we would like to include the embankment at the front of the plot, which backs onto the road.

“This took more time, delaying proceeding, but was important to us as we wanted the community centre to be placed overlooking the road so it could be at street level, in a prominent position, to be seen by those driving through the village.”

The Lifton Community Centre trustees put a bid in to The Big Lottery Reaching Communities Building Fund, with the help of Mandy Keynon who worked on the application. They secured two thirds of the capital cost they needed when they were awarded £550,000 by The Big Lottery fund, which has enabled them to start work on the community ground.

Mr Dyke added: “We were lucky enough to receive a large lottery funded grant to add to the bank.

“It was a three stage process and we finally received approval in 2015, after signing an acceptance form in July.

“We have received around £565,000 overall I believe of lottery funded money to go towards our community project, which will be used alongside the money raised by individuals, like Vin Marshall who ran the London Marathon on our behalf, and other events, to start the long awaited work on this community use site.”

The whole community has got involved with raising money for the project. On August 2, Kevin Marshall participated in Ride London, a 100-mile bike ride, Kerry and Martin Gardiner put on ‘The Magic and Illusion Show’ at Lewdown raising £333 for funds and Kerry Freeman took on the London Marathon in 2015 and Vin Marshall in 2016 to help raise extra funds — among the many other contributions from people in the area.

Secretary for the Lifton Community Centre, Vin Marshall, said the new housing estate next to the site has increased the demand for a modern community space.

“This is a growing village and it needs a facility that can accommodate the needs of the people.”

The addition of the new community centre hopes to bring back some of the sporting and activity groups who have moved to other venues due to the lack of suitable space in Lifton.

Tony Phillips, chairman of the trustees of the Lifton Community Centre project, said: “There is mainly a need for this community centre because organisations at the moment have been going outside the village, like the skittles group have had to go to Lewdown, the WI have had to find other premises and the Badminton team have moved over to Launceston.

“We hope that this will be a modern community space that can bring these clubs back to the village and will help boost what we have to offer residents.”

Devon County Councillor for Okehampton Rural, Kevin Ball (Cons), was at the event to dig the first sod from the ground where the Lifton Community Centre will be placed.

Cllr Ball told the Post: “John Dyke and the other trustees were talking to me, even before I was elected, about getting a modern community centre for Lifton. Each Devon councillor receives what is know as a ‘locality money pot’, which we are able to allocate to local, community projects that we feel are worthy of a little extra help.

“I think it is really a brilliant project that will benefit the community. From a personal perspective it is great to be here today to see the team as they start out on a project that has been a long time in the planning.

“I really want to give the trustees, and all those involved with the Lifton Community Centre, credit for their ‘stickability’.

“They have always known this is what they wanted in their village and have not been swayed from this vision. They really have persevered and it is admirable to see that they have finally got here.”

After a second, or third, attempt at digging the first bit of turf up from surprisingly hard ground, Cllr Ball was able to lift the sod and mark the first small stages of a project that has been long awaited by the Lifton community.