THE Newton Abbot Centre Association Committee's bid for funding has been sent to the new Community Buildings Programme of the Big Lottery Fund. Plans have been drawn up for £500,000 improvements to the association's Courtenay Centre, in Kingsteignton Road, Newton Abbot, to include disabled friendly facilities. The registered charity has in its favour a £100,000 primer as well as a contribution from Teignbridge Council to provide a fully lit pedestrian link between the district authority's car park in Cricketfield Road and the centre. Among planned improvements is the refurbishment of the main hall, an extension to provide two rooms to the Kingsteignton Road frontage, and a new entrance foyer. Colin Power, the centre treasurer, said the committee, headed by its chairman Jim Putz, had collected a wealth of information about what was required to transform the centre into a building for the present day rather than one for the 1960s when it was built. All the information has been gathered together and sent with the application for Stage 1 of the Big Lottery Fund bid, and it is now fingers crossed it will reach Stage 2.
