THE future of the town's cherished Ockment Centre has been safeguarded for another year thanks to a significant grant from Okehampton United Charity.

Centre manager Lindsey Svensson applied to the United Charity for a £12,500 grant to help meet the shortfall of the centre for the current financial year. Part of the application included a request for a further £5,000 to keep the Friday job club running until the end of February 2013.

Representatives from the centre and work club met representatives from the OUC in August to discuss the proposals. Following that meeting, the OUC has donated both sums to support the centre and ensure the work of the job club can carry on for the immediate future.

In 2011, the loss of crucial revenue and desperate need for maintenance of the building were having a real impact on the centre's funds.

Rising electricity and heating bills, a lack of new revenue streams and the ongoing need for further maintenance mean the centre has a shortfall to make up before the end of this financial year.

The centre generates around £80,000 a year through room rentals and the services it offers, but following grants, including ongoing support from Okehampton Town Council, it still runs at roughly a £12,000 deficit.

The OUC grant ensures the centre will be able to manage its financial demands.

Centre manager Lindsey Svensson said: 'We are incredibly grateful to the Okehampton United Charity for their financial support in what is a difficult financial climate for everyone, ourselves very much included.

'It really means the difference for us between staying open and having to close the centre.

'We expected that there would be questions from the OUC over whether the centre could become financially sustainable in the near future.

'We were honest and said that due to the climate, we are not, and rely heavily on that core funding. It is good to see them supporting us through that, as it shows the importance of the work we do here.

'Our situation is okay now thanks to this grant, and has enabled the work club to continue without any breaks, which is very important.

'Our biggest challenge is just to stay open each year, as the centre is a valuable place required by people in the town.'

Okehampton United Charity clerk Karen Percival said: 'The trustees were more than happy to donate both the £12,500 for the running costs of the centre, and the additional £5,000 to keep the Friday work club going.

'The potential of the Ockment Centre is huge, and it is always the place that people in the community go to when they need help. It is such a valuable community resource, and the trustees certainly recognise that.

'Hopefully, the money donated to the work club will keep that running until February, and we hope that gives them enough time to find other revenue streams and funding that can keep that going permanently.

'The job club helped a lot of people following the closures at Polestar and Robert Wiseman and they continue to help a many people looking for work. We hope that can continue for as long as possible.'

The importance of the centre to people in the town was illustrated through a gesture made by the Riverside Social Club, made up of former employees of Polestar made redundant in 2011 — many of them used the work club and other resources at the centre following the redundancies.

Lindsey Svensson said: 'We recently received a £93 cheque from the Riverside Club, and gestures like this, from people who have used the centre in their time of need, show its importance, and it is touching to see.

'We are very grateful to the town council too for their ongoing support to us, everyone's support means the world to everyone here.'