A 'COMMUNITY chest' is to be made available to groups in the East Rural Ward as part of the regeneration money awarded to the area.

Chairman of the East Rural Community Zone Shadow Board, Councillor Fred Slater, said: "Small grants will be made available to the community such as the Women's Institute and youth groups who may be able to get up to £50O each."

The cash will come from the £75,000 grant which is to be spent on regenerating the area.

It is part of a government pilot scheme to improve services for rural areas and the East Rural Ward is the only rural ward to have been allocated the cash -- which is to be spent over a three-year period.

A possible top up of £25,000 may also be available from the council- making the amount the ward could receive £100,000.

The CRZ has already sent out questionnaires to try to find out which issues villagers want tackling. Top issues were the creation of traffic-calming schemes, providing open play areas and improving the environment.

Community events are now planned for two Saturdays in the New Year so villagers can give their views on how they want the money to be spent.

Villagers in Hoddlesden are invited to an exhibition at St Paul's School on January 19 and there will also be an exhibition in Eccleshill on January 26 at the Duke of York Pub at Waterside, both events will run from 10am to 1pm.

It is hoped that people will contribute to the exhibition by providing past photographs and memorabilia of the villages.

The idea behind the exhibition is that seeing what the villages used to be like will inspire people to suggest improvements for their area today.

The views put forward will help to prepare an action plan for the East Rural Community Regeneration Zone and decide how best to spend the funds.

For more information about the events contact Coun Slater on 702207.