ADVENTURE Okehampton has been awarded £34,993 to assist with a major construction project.

The project will create a multi-function room to be used by those at Youth Hostel Accommodations (YHA) in the local area.

The grant was awarded by Greater Dartmoor Local Enterprise Action Fund (LEAF), a rural grant programme for Dartmoor that focuses on growth of the rural economy. 

The new room will be built in association with YHA Okehampton and YHA Bracken Tor.

It will allow all the residents at Bracken Tor House and Bracken Tor Lodge to meet and eat together as well as provide space for indoor activities and classroom type sessions, that should extend the season for school and other residential groups.  

The project should increase the number of overnight visitors staying in Okehampton each year helping the local economy.  

The build project will take about six months and be managed by their operations manager Paul Elson. It should be open by the time summer camps participants arrive in July. 

John Elson, the company director, said: ‘We are very excited about the new facility at Bracken Tor, as this will enable us to develop into new areas and extend our season, and without the grant from the Greater Dartmoor LEAF, it wouldn’t have happened this year.

‘Our partner, the charity YHA placed one of their summer camps at YHA Okehampton Bracken Tor last year, as an experiment and it was so successful that YHA have requested us to deliver a further three summer camps this year.

‘This new function room will be used for evening activities and chill-out times.’