Seven charities in Bradford and its surrounding district have been awarded nearly £450,000 by the National Lottery Charities Board.

The main beneficiaries, the Bradford Joint Training Board, Keighley Kiddicare, and Shipley's Isis Centre, have the lion's share of the money with some £423,516 while five others split £13,684 between them.

Catherine Wyatt, BJTB's training and development co-ordinator, said the award was excellent news for the project which helps Bradford's community and voluntary groups run more efficiently.

She said: "They've given us exactly what we asked for, right down to the last pound, which is fantastic.

"The money will enable us to provide and develop the training and accreditation that we have already established there is a demand for within the community."

And groups who have missed out this time because they were unaware of their eligibility or were overwhelmed by the application process are being urged to try again.

The board's Yorkshire and Humberside regional manager, Helen Wollaston, said: "We have awarded £72,317,937 to 1,041 groups in the Yorkshire and Humber region to date.

"The chances of being successful have improved dramatically since the early days. Over half of all the applications in the last six months have been awarded grants."

She was speaking after the committee's first public meeting in the country was held at the Karmand Centre in Barkerend, Bradford.

The meeting is part of a one year pilot scheme to make the whole National Lottery grants procedure more open to the general public.

The Karmand centre itself has received two grants of £266,000 to build training rooms and £189,000 to set up after school training sessions which run on Saturdays and Sundays.

Groups wanting to apply for a grant should call the National Lottery Charity Board's regional office on 0113 2245000.

Where the cash goes

The grants under the Community Involvement Programme go to: Bradford Joint Training Board - £163,049, three year grant to help voluntary groups in the Bradford area.

Keighley Kiddicare - £71,133, three year grant for nursery education unit which provides childcare for Keighley's lone parents.

The Isis Centre, based in Shipley but also serves Bradford - £189,334. Total: £423,516.

Under the Small Grants Programme, handouts have gone to: Bradford Tinnitus Group - £1,288, support group for Tinnitus sufferers.

Midas Touch Asian Musical Group - £5,000, develops cultural awareness between Asians and non-Asians through Asian music.

Multi Cultural Out-reach Project - £1,950, anti-racist training for workers with the under-fives.

Parkside Panthers - £876, multi-cultural community group based around street hockey teams. The

Ponden Centre Ltd - £4,480, provides low cost holiday homes for Bradford families. Total: £13,694.

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