COUNCILS from across the area will be contacted regarding potential contributions towards the efforts to establish a case for the resurrection of rail services to the town. The council working group Destination Okehampton has been working hard over the past few months on a strategy to boost the chances of ensuring a rail service returns to Okehampton. To aid their efforts, the council has pledged to set aside up to 1% of the 2014/15 precept for this purpose, taken from the legal and professional fees budget. The group has also secured a £1,000 donation from four county councillors, from the Locality Fund. The full council agreed last Monday to write to councils with a potential interest in the return of the railway, such as Tavistock Town Council, to request that they provide funding – potentially in the same proportion as Okehampton Town Council relative to their precept. Cllr Maureen McDonald said: 'The letter to be sent out invites town clerks to put the item on their respective council agenda. It will take time, it is not just a case of councils handing money over. It has to go through the right channels.' Cllr Dr Michael Ireland, the chair of Destination Okehampton, confirmed that the council is looking to raise around £10,000 for the project. Some of the money will be used to commission an independent report by a professional rail consultant to prove the actual costs and the benefits of having the line reinstated. Cllr Dr Ireland said: 'There is lots of work being done by lots of people to do everything to bring the railway back to Okehampton. 'We have to keep working on this, keep it in the attention of decision makers and do what we can to get it back.' In the past few months, Destination Okehampton has met with representatives from numerous communities, including from Okehampton Hamlets, Tavistock, Sampford Courtenay, North Tawton, Bow, Stowford, Bideford, Launceston and Buckland Monachorum in an effort to form a united front advocating the return of the railway. It is hoped that having councils, organisations and representatives from across the region advocating the return of the Okehampton line will add weight to the argument that the return of the line could bring huge economic benefits to West Devon, Torridge, North Devon and parts of Cornwall.