SMALL villages across the Yorkshire Dales are set to benefit from a major injection of European cash.

A £60,000 grant will pay for the creation of a new post for a community architect over the next three years.

The new member of staff, employed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, will work with 20 communities preparing plans to improve their surrondings. The plans will then be put forward for further grants.

A spokesman for the authroity said: "It will be up to each community to indicate what they would like or what they think they need to improve the streetscape or the environment. The community architect's role will be to help formulate plans which can then be submitted for funding.

"This is something which we welcome as it means something is being put back into the villages which will have plans for the future."

The project is part of a £3.2m package for the Yorkshire and Humber region under the European Objective 2 umbrella.

About £1.3m is also to be ploughed into improving parts of the North York Moors as part of a major tourism drive.

Alison Biddulph, Europe director of the Government office for Yorkshire, said: "The project is an important part of revitalising the economy across the region.

"It will help to build economic growth and stability in a particularly beautiful, but economically vulnerable part of Yorkshire."

Other projects include plans for a regional centre for manufacturing, piloted by the Department of Trade and Industry and Yorkshire Forward, plus the investment of more than £1m in projects which will combat drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness in Leeds and Bradford.