A WEST Devon village was celebrating 'great news' this week and looking forward to having a base that will serve the whole community.

The village, Bratton Clovelly, has been awarded a lottery grant of £46,500 to help restore the old National School Room, a grade two listed building.

The room will be used as a centre for heritage activities as well as a small and comfortable meeting room, which will be open to numerous local clubs and groups.

The room, which was built in 1837, is situated in the heart of the village next to the 13th century parish church.

It was in regular use until 2005, when it was deemed structurally unsafe and was closed.

Chairman of the management committee of the school room David Beck said the committee was keen to get the development up and running.

He said: 'We are hoping that an application we made to the Community Council of Devon will be successful this time.

'We applied twice before and they were keen that we were to have the Heritage Lottery Fund money first.

'Once we have the money in place, we hope to complete the project on the restoration side within six to nine months.'

The restoration of the school room will allow the village to have a suitable small meetings room, exhibition venue and a valuable heritage resource with the collection of Bratton Clovelly history.

Committee member for the school room Philip Worth said: 'The grant is great news for the village as it means we will be getting our much missed school room restored and used in the heart of this lovely village.

'It will be an additional asset for the whole community and an important focal point for small meetings and heritage activities.

'We are anxious to bring it back to life as soon as possible.'

Head of region for the Heritage Lottery Fund Nerys Watts said the project would be an important heritage asset in Bratton Clovelly.

She said 'The project will give the public much wider access to the old school room.

'It will, both physically and through display boards, walks and talks and other learning activities outline its rich history.

'We are thrilled to restore this historic local building and open it up for the community.'