Dewsbury Moor has landed a £1 million lottery win to help meet community needs over the next decade.

The area is one of 50 in the UK to be awarded £1 million each in development funds from the Big Lottery under their new Big Local programme. The programme seeks to invest in communities to meet the needs of local people over a 10 year period.

Dewsbury Moor was chosen because it has not previously been given substantial lottery funds and because of its deprivation rating.

The money must be spent on local projects designed to improve the lives of the local people and will start to be awarded to local projects from October 2011 onwards. By that time a trust will have been put in place and activities organised to make local people aware of the opportunity.  Structures will be set up to ensure local people are involved in deciding which projects to fund.

The award was made after regional officers from Big Lottery visited Dewsbury Moor to discuss in detail with key players their vision for the future. There has so far been little Lottery funding in the area.

Cllr Peter O’Neill, Kirklees cabinet member for Communities, said the council had made the Dewsbury area one of the key council priorities. “This is wonderful news for the people of Dewsbury Moor. It is a great opportunity for the area and will help local people become involved in developing their own activities for the long term.”

Kirklees Council and Voluntary Action Kirklees (VAK) were asked to nominate local communities where the award could be most effectively used.