Lottery jackpot for Thurcroft area

The village is one of six communities around the region which have been awarded the cash jackpot by the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) scheme.

The Thurcroft community will be able to decide how the money will be spent in the area over the next 10 years.

Thurcoft Parish Council chairman Geb Nightingale hailed the cash windfall as ‘fantastic’ for the community.

The money could be spent on anything from creating new community facilities to starting up training and employment schemes, tackling anti-social behaviour, or providing more activities for young people.

Residents in these areas will also benefit from a range of support, training and networking opportunities to enable them to make best use of their funding.

The money comes from a £200 million Big Lottery Fund scheme called Big Local, which aims to give communities a leading role in making decisions about how to improve their area and tackle local problems.

The communities selected to receive the funding have a history of difficulty in getting support and funding.

Vanessa White, head of the Yorkshire and the Humber region, said: “This funding scheme is going to put residents in these areas at the heart of decision making and give them a real say in how to improve their local area.”

“But more than that it’s going to strengthen these communities and help local people to build on their skills and experience so that they can continue to work together to overcome challenges, address local problems, and make a positive difference in their communities over the next 10 years, and beyond.”

Coun Nightingale said the parish council would organise a public meeting so residents and community groups could share their ideas on how the money should be spent.

He felt the area had been deprived of funding for many years.

“It’s funding money that is going to improve the community and the quality of life for people,” he added.

The lottery funded scheme is being managed by Local Trust, independent organisation set up by the Community Development Foundation and its consortium partners to run Big Local.

Representatives from the organisation will help residents to decide on priorities for the money and set up a local partnership. They will then help to develop a plan to spend the money over 10 years.