A major project to transform the derelict mill site in Okehampton into a 'community hub' has passed a big milestone, securing development grant funding from the Community Builders programme.

The Okehampton Resource Centre (ORC) is designed to incorporate a range of community projects and to offer potential business units for local small businesses.

The funding has allowed the project to advance to the stage of submitting detailed building designs, as well as revising the business plan to affirm the economic viability of the ORC.

Tim Capps, who runs Oxenham Consult, a project management firm handling the ORC design, said: 'The feasibility project began in 2010. Oxenham Consult have now put a detailed design together, and the planning will officially be submitted in April or May.

'We believe the design and aesthetic is very much of our own time, with the historic chimney stack remaining a focal point of the building.'

Nick Payne, chair of the project steering group said: 'We have all worked hard to keep the project going forward in very difficult times.

'When completed, the centre will be a positive boost to the local community, especially through offering our young people more readily accessible vocational training.'

The vocational training facilities will have links to Okehampton College.

Courses in catering, hairdressing, and beauty are planned. For catering students, the centre will house a restaurant, where students will learn 'front of house' skills.

Local organisation Wren Music also intends to make the ORC its new home, providing it with a recording studio.

The centre would also house the prestigious Baring-Gould archive, one of the most significant collections of traditional songs from the region.

Other facilities, including space for exhibitions, meetings, and sound facilities are intended to benefit the local community.

The design also provides potential for affordable 'easy in- easy out' business units that would hopefully encourage local entrepreneurs to start businesses.

Philip Wagstaff, chair of Devon Heartlands Community Forum, said: 'I am delighted that the project has remained faithful to the original community vision for the old mill site, by seeking to develop facilities for local organisations and members of the community, while also celebrating local heritage and culture.'

The next few months will prove crucial to the future of the ORC, with Devon Heartlands Community Development Trust working towards establishing a community interest company to take the project forward, securing planning approval for the project, finalising a long-term lease for the site, and to secure capital funding for the build.