A COMMUNITY group dedicated to making St Margaret's a place that everyone can be proud of has received a boost.

The St Margaret's Community Project is through to the final stage of the Big Lottery Fund's Community Spaces grant, after submitting a funding bid to build a play area and picnic area at the King George V playing field off Glebe Close.

Project chairman Tracy Evans is confident the group will be successful and that the play area and picnic area will be built in time for the 2011 Easter holidays.

She said: "By the end of this year we will know how much funding we have got. Rebecca Luff is our community spaces facilitator; her role is to provide us with guidance and support towards our final stage application.

"We are aiming to get all the information in by the end of August ready for submission to the panel, which once complete takes up to 12 weeks to be assessed and a decision made."

To celebrate reaching the final stages, the group organised a walk through the village which attracted more than 90 people.

Tracy said: "There were no boundaries on age, with the youngest being under one year to the oldest over 70 years. All walked as one across the fields to the South Foreland lighthouse and then on to Pines Gardens, finishing with toe-dipping in the sea and a welcome ice lolly.

"Everything was free and kindly donated by the Bay Trust and the National Trust."

The community group has made rapid progress in the four months since it was formed by mother-of-two Tracy, with an aim of "putting some community spirit back into St Margaret's".

About £10,000 is already in the pot thanks to fundraising events and donations from the likes of Roger De Haan's charitable trust, Pfizer, Kent Community Foundation and St Margaret's Parish Council.

And if successful, the final sum from the Big Lottery is expected to be more than enough to pay for play area and picnic area at the King George V playing field.

Tracy, 35, a Ministry of Defence employee, has made sure as many people as possible have been consulted about the plans. She heads up a committee of ten people.

She said: "The community children have been drawing designs for the new play area, and these will be judged in the new term.

"The children have enjoyed asking questions and choosing the equipment that fulfils their needs. The final design will be unveiled at our fun day on September 11 in the village hall, from 1pm to 4pm, where there will also be the chance to try indoor curling, as well as lots of other games and the community grand raffle draw."

Tracy said many more exciting projects are planned for the future.

To join the group or for more details, visit www.wix.com/playarea/st-margarets-at-cliffe or e-mail Tracy at tracypete1@yahoo.co.uk