Community Groups Scoop Lotto Bonanza

Welsh projects have received nearly £250,000 of Lottery cash. A total of £224,873 has been awarded to 64 community groups in this month’s round awards from the Awards for All Wales programme.

Supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, Awards for All Wales grants between £500 and £5,000 to heritage, charitable, environmental, health and educational projects. A spokesman said: “The projects funded are a testament to the diversity of the programme, one of the most successful to date.”

This year commemorates the 200th anniversary of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. With the £4,700 awarded to the Pater Arts organisation, in Bridgend, the history and legacy of the transatlantic slave trade will be researched.

Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff FEI Cluster Group will spend their £4,320 award on a project to develop a forest trail for children with special needs. With the £2,370 they received, Cynon Culture in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, will raise community awareness of their local heritage and promote the activities of the group.

Awards for All Wales manager Sian Richards said: “We have awarded more than £12.3m in small grants to in excess of 3,600 projects.”