Cash for green groups; pounds 20k awarded to local projects

Byline: EMMA DAVISON

A council spokeswoman said competition for the grants was "intense". Eighty-five organisations applied for a total of pounds 650,000 from a pot of only pounds 180,000. Only 21 were successful."As it was, the pressure of competition meant that the panel decided that other projects made more of a contribution to health than this one."Applicants had to prove their project fulfilled certain criteria including, among other things, improving education and tackling childhood obesity. But when TRA chairman Stephen Knight contacted the council to find out why they had been unsuccessful, he was shocked by the response.Colne Valley Tree Society was handed a pounds 2,000 grant.GREEN groups across West Yorkshire are celebrating after being given a cash boost. Five charity and community groups in the region - including two operating in the Huddersfield area - are sharing a slice of over pounds 20,000 worth of grants.Working in Saltaire, the Hirst Wood Generation Group has been awarded pounds 1,600 to help it reclaim derelict areas and transform them into well-maintained public spaces.The plan was to put it in the grounds of Netherton Infant and Nursery School for the benefit of schoolchildren as well as local community groups.Netherton Tenants' and Residents' Association (TRA) had applied for pounds 4,000 from Kirklees Council to install a 40ft poly-tunnel for plants, to build raised flower beds and buy specialist tools for children.Heavy rainfall and exposed land makes farming in the area difficult, and the money will help the group continue its work helping farmers create shelter by planting trees."It's our way of recognising the effort and dedication that they make and we hope it will enable them to go that extra mile."The group was established in 1964 and since then has planted more than 300,000 trees at sites across the Colne Valley."Roy was a rugby man all his life and would have loved it", said Mrs Holmes, of Woodkirk Gardens, Dewsbury."Of course gardening is a physical activity. I know of sheltered housing schemes and care homes that have introduced gardening for that very reason." Mr Knight said the decision had left a lot of people disappointed, but they were looking at alternative methods of funding.A REAL EYEFUL: Pauline Holmes, left, with Jane Dutton peruse the rugby calendar published in memory of Pauline's husband Roy to raise funds for Kirkwood Hospice. Above: Two pages from the calendar (PC241110Dhospice-04)

HARD AT WORK: Colne Valley Tree Society volunteers planting shrubs at Meltham