News that £555,522 has been awarded to local groups by the Big Lottery Fund has been welcomed by the Pendle MP.

Conservative Andrew Stephenson has been working closely with the Big Lottery Fund on a number of projects.

Between July and September, Home-Start Pendle and Ribble Valley was awarded £230,222 to provide vulnerable families with children of school age in the Pendle area with volunteer support.

Pendle Leisure Trust has received £305,550 to help integrate isolated people with mild to moderate mental health issues into the community using therapeutic gardening at an allotment.

Brierfield Action in the Community has been awarded £9,800 to create a community cafe, where the group will provide ICT workshops, CV writing, job search and healthy cooking classes.

The Peoples' Enterprise and Empowerment Forum received £9,950 to fund a market research project and create a business plan to close gaps in community services.

Mr Stephenson said: “To have this kind of continued investment in 2013 is fantastic news for Pendle’s local charities and voluntary groups.”