LATER this Summer Sandford Parish Hall will be renewing its rather dated and smelly toilets and improving the immediate outside area around the hall with two disabled bays.

A brick path will also be built from the footpath entrance by the Scout Hut to the disabled ramp and around to Creedy View gate entrance. This major project is expected to cost more than £30,000 and the Hall committee has been applying for local funding and grants to help it pay for the work.

Last month Sandford Parish Hall heard that it had been successful with its bid for £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund towards its toilets, disabled parking and path project.

Mike Snow, from the Hall committee, said: “This was a big surprise but means that we can now press on and try to get the outside works completed after the toilets.

“The builders are due to start work on July 21, after schools breaks up.”

Mr Snow added that the committee had also applied for and received grants of £2,242.88 from Mid Devon District Council TAP (Town and Parish) Fund, £500 from the Norman Family Charitable Trust and £500 from a Trust which prefers to remain anonymous.

He added that shoppers may have also seen that currently the “Bags of Help” Tesco blue tokens can be placed in the Sandford Project box in both the Tesco store at Wellparks and in the Crediton High Street Metro store.

He added: “Please put some tokens in the Sandford Hall box but note that it ends for us on June 30.”