A pilot project which aims to inspire residents in the Longlands area of Bradford city centre to make a difference in their community has been awarded more than £5,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All.

Neighbourhood Ventures will use its grant to support residents on the estate in a 12-month project, which will see them research the history of the area, get involved in regeneration projects and look at ways of bringing the community together.

Jonathan Crewdson, who runs the project, said a launch event is planned for November and, if successful, the model could be rolled out to other areas of the city centre.

He said: “We want to turn the area around. It’s one of the least desirable Incommunities’ estates and often gets forgotten. When people think about city centre living they think of Little Germany or Goitside and forget about historic districts like Longlands.”

The scheme will include three phases – a history project to create a small publication, setting up a website and ten training sessions offering residents information about how they can set up schemes in the community.

“I hope that it will make residents more confident to make a difference in their area,” said Mr Crewdson.

Two of the district’s schools have also been awarded a slice of the lottery cash. Tong High School has received £7,248 to run a 38-week programme of extracurricular activities, including DJ lessons, signing and song-writing workshops, while Southfield School has been given £9,990 to create a wheelchair-accessible garden area for young people with disabilities to take part in horticultural therapy and leisure activities.

A grant of £4,500 was awarded to Clayton Community Centre to improve the acoustics of the building and the Sangat Community Association received £8,570 to run a leadership course for young people.

Shipley and Keighley Pre-School Learning Alliance will use its £9,428 to create a mobile garden facility and run gardening sessions for pre-school and young children’s groups.

Vanessa White, the Big Lottery Fund’s head of the Yorkshire region, said: “The wide range of community projects receiving funding today just shows the variety of projects that can benefit from our Awards for All programme.”

For more information about applying for a grant, visit awardsforall.org.uk or phone 0845 4102030.