An additional £1.5m is on it’s way to help finance building the new Ilfracombe Watersports Centre following a successful funding bid by North Devon Council. In August the council was invited by The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSW LEP) to develop a business case to bid for additional funding from the Government’s Getting Building Fund for the project. The watersports centre was selected as a suitable project because it is ‘shovel ready’ with the council being able to demonstrate that it would create jobs, support economic recovery across the South West and that spending on the project would be complete by March 2022. Now that funding has been confirmed contractors have been invited to tender for the project. Pending a successful tender process it is hoped work will start on site by April 2021 with completion of the project approximately 10 months later. Lead Member for Economic Development at North Devon Council, Councillor Malcolm Prowse, says: “It’s fantastic news for the Ilfracombe Watersports Centre project that our funding bid was successful. Our project team have worked tirelessly on the bid so I’m delighted this hard work has paid off and we can now get going on this project. Once completed the watersports centre will be a real investment and asset for Ilfracombe as well as a welcome boost for the North Devon economy and tourism. We’re so lucky here in North Devon to be surrounded by fantastic coastline so the new centre will be a real opportunity for our residents to get out there and make the most of it from the water.”Chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Karl Tucker, says “The HotSW LEP’s Getting Building Fund aims to support ready-to-go projects that will deliver new jobs and contribute to our area’s post-COVID recovery. We are pleased to have agreed just over £1.5 million from this fund towards the building of the new Ilfracombe Watersports Centre, which will support the local economic recovery, create jobs and provide a great new facility for both tourists and residents to benefit from.” Residents can stay up-to-date with news and developments on the project by following the council’s facebook @northdevoncouncil and twitter @ndevoncouncil pages.Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

A drive-in cinema that was the brainchild of a local charity has raised thousands of pounds for local worthy causes. Ilfracombe Round Table came up with the idea for car-based film screenings after their flagship event, Birdman, was unable to take place in 2020 due to the pandemic. The idea proved so successful that after dozens of screenings at venues across North Devon, Ilfracombe Round Table has raised more than £13,000 for charity. As well as an initial series of films at Ilfracombe Rugby Club, the group of volunteers hosted themed events for Halloween at the spooky Seafield House in Westward Ho! as well as festive Christmas screenings at Portmore Golf Club in Barnstaple. On top of this, the charity also offers its equipment and expertise on a hire basis to other groups across the UK, with all proceeds going to worthy causes in and around Ilfracombe. While the group has already donated some of the funds, the group is always lookingfor good causes in need of help. If you fit this bill, then please get in touch on ilfracombebirdman@hotmail.com. Round Table is also always interested to hear from young men aged between 18 and 45 who want to have fun and make their community a better place. For more information search Ilfracombe Round Table on Facebook.Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

One of the biggest festive events in Ilfracombe’s calendar may not be able to go ahead this year, but organisers have come up with an ingenius way to spread Christmas cheer in its absence. The town’s Lighting of the Lights is by far one of the most popular festive events in North Devon, though clearly not a gathering that could go ahead during the pandemic. But, such is the importance of the event, organisers are hosting a Virtual Lighting of the Lights on Friday December 4th from their Facebook page. You will get to see lots of familiar faces, enjoy some clips from recent switch-ons, have a singalong and help celebrate what would have been Combe Christmas’s 5th anniversary. Speaking on their Facebook page, organisers said: “Combe Christmas has always been about our amazing community, and although we can’t all gather together we still want to create that feeling of togetherness by coming out onto our doorsteps at 7pm where we can all clap, cheer, ring bells and turn our Christmas lights on in our houses and gardens! You may have seen that our amazing tech team volunteers have already been out and hung the lights ready for December, but just think how incredible the whole town will look this year.”There are a few ways you can help out on the night:* Decorate! Let’s light up our houses and show North Devon why Ilfracombe has the biggest switch on event!* For those of you who can afford to do it, a JustGiving page has been set up as despite not having the event we have had to spend £2,500 already on repairs and additional pieces of lighting. Please only give if you can afford to – https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/covidchristmas* At 7pm on Friday 4th December please just join in. We know how incredible the NHS claps were during lockdown, so we know you can all make a huge amount of noise – now lets do it to celebrate our town and spread some Christmas cheer! Organisers say the event will be back BIGGER, BETTER and Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

Workers at an Ilfracombe care home have scooped an award for their hard work and dedication during the coronavirus outbreak. Staff at Pinehurst Care Home on Chambercombe Park Road were thrilled to receive the most nominations in a competition to find ‘Care Home Heroes’.Members of staff at the 23-bed care home won pamper sets and gift vouchers for ‘going above and beyond the call of duty since the outbreak of Covid-19’ in the contest, which was organised by local food wholesaler Savona Foodservice.Julie Farrell, who is the manager of Pinehurst Care Home, said: “As all care staff know, it is wonderful to be recognised and appreciated for the hard work we do, so winning the most nominations out of more than 30 care homes means Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

It is a pleasure to share yet another image of hope on this month’s front page. Graham Schlisske’s wonderful photo of the boats being returned to the water is a symbol that life is starting to return, slowly, to normal. Of course, even using the word ‘normal’ seems flippant when so many of us still can’t hug our parents or enjoy a beer with our closest friends.But there is something reassuring about partaking once more in the simple pleasures we used to take for granted. For me, this took the form of an enjoying an ice cream from Joey’s on The Quay recently. I was disproportionately excited about a cone with a flake, and when Mary Challacombe served me, she too seemed even more gleeful to be allowed contact with customers once more.Traders on both the sea front and the High Street have gone to great efforts to get ready for re-opening, and as the article in this edition mentions, now is the time when local businesses need our support more than ever. My sense of glee at the shoots of Ilfracombe’s recovery reminded me how lucky we all are to live in such a wonderful corner of…