Community groups celebrate as Lottery dishes out grants

Community groups are celebrating a windfall of more than £100,000 in the latest round of grants to be handed out by the National Lottery Awards for All programme.

Organisations in the Hambleton district struck lucky with grants totalling more than £22,000 being allocated.

The major beneficiaries were members of the Nordic Divers British Sub-Aqua Club. The group will be using a £5,000 grant to develop a team of qualified coaches and also buy a boat.

Ingleby Greenhow School is also in line for improvements after the Friends' group was awarded almost £4,500 to hire an artist to create a school logo mosaic.

Other winners were the Northallerton charity Ivy Workshops, Thirsk Hockey Club and the Scruton Millennium Book Association.

Elsewhere in the county, Harrogate and District Community Transport - which helps disabled people enjoy the countryside by providing outings, conservation projects and cycling - has received £3,600 to buy three cycles.

Young sports stars in the Harrogate area will also benefit. The town's table tennis association was allocated £4,745 to pay for its younger players to become qualified coaches and for coaches to obtain higher qualifications.

A £5,000 grant will make three centuries of village life accessible at the touch of a button for the Bishopthorpe Local History Group.

The money will be used to buy computer equipment to create a community archive. The project will allow library users to study visual records and oral accounts of events dating to the 18th Century.

Group treasurer Liam Godfrey said: "The archetypal comment for older people is 'Oh, I don't like computers', but here they will be able to see them in use."

The Awards for All senior awards officer for the region, Paula Ritchie, said: "Awards for All continues to make a real difference to communities across the region. There is so much positive community activity taking place and Awards for All is once again proud to give its support."