GRANTS totalling more than £50,000 have been awarded to support projects that will help bring communities together across the region, thanks to the Roger Stott Community Grants programme.

Run by Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, the programme provides small grants to support a diverse range of community initiatives that benefit local people across the Yorkshire Dales.

The grant programme was launched in March 2016 in memory of Roger Stott, the founding Chairman of YDMT.

Since then 42 grants totalling just over £50,000 have been awarded to support a wide variety of projects that are making a real difference to local people in and around the Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale.

Recent successful applications range from improvements to village halls, play parks, community gardens and sports grounds, to providing financial support for a young archaeology group.

A community befriending service in Embsay and Eastby has also benefitted and a group in Sedbergh has received funding to install nest boxes for swifts and a webcam to allow local people to take a closer look.

Tanya St. Pierre, YDMT Project Officer, said: "It's a pleasure to be able to support such a diverse range of initiatives.

"Thanks to a quick and easy application process we’re able to support passionate local people across the region to continue or kick-start initiatives that make a real difference in their local communities.”

Funding can be used to cover revenue expenses such as staff costs, rent or training, or for capital investment in assets such as furniture, computers or catering equipment, to name just a few.

Small voluntary organisations and community groups with an annual income of less than £30,000 can apply. No match-funding is required, so groups can request up to 100 percent of the total project costs.

The Roger Stott Community Grants programme will be open again to new applications in September – details to follow later in the year.