A group supporting the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities in Bradford has been given a major funding boost allowing it to continue its work for a further five years.

The Equity Centre, an offshoot of the Equity Project, is an umbrella group for the 20 different lesbian, gay and bisexual groups in the city.

Now the centre has secured £500,000 in funding over the next five years from the Big Lottery Fund, plus additional funding from Bradford and Airedale Primary Care Trust and charity Capacity Builders.

The funding has enabled the centre to employ full-time staff and extend its operations.

Centre manager Dave Forrest said: “It is absolutely fantastic news, we did have one member of staff but we have now been able to take on three full-time and three part-time staff. We also have a group of 20 volunteers who do excellent work for us.

“We work closely with Bradford Council and the health trusts on a range of issues and provide services such as fitness classes and smoking cessation classes.

“This funding not only allows us to continue and extend our work in Bradford but we are also in the process of setting up the first regional LGB network for the whole of Yorkshire.

Ruth Middleton, chairman of the Equity Partnership, said: “It’s great to see a community-based organisation like ours grow and develop in response to the needs of Bradford’s lesbian, gay and bisexual community.

“From small beginnings we now have a busy and active centre. With new staff we look forward to building on our health, community development and training work and to be able to promote and raise awareness of lesbian, gay and bisexual issues across the district.”

Graham Moore, head of commissioning for partnership programmes at Bradford and Airedale tPCT, said: “Our decision to provide this funding supports our current health inequality commissioning programme, which looks at providing fair and equal access to health services in Bradford and Airedale.

“The Equity Partnership does a lot of great work on identifying needs, promoting tolerance and in supporting lesbian, gay and bisexual people across Bradford.

“It works on a whole range of areas – including improving accessibility to mental and sexual health services, and promoting healthy lifestyles.

“We’re really pleased to be able to offer our support to the Equity Partnership. By working closely together we hope to improve access to health care services as well as promote health and well-being for members of lesbian, gay and bisexual communities in Bradford.”

e-mail: paddy.mcguffin @telegraphandargus.co.uk