NEW Euro funding totalling more than £63,000 has been agreed for community and voluntary organisations in Cheshire.

The cash, in the form of European Social Fund grants, has been secured through bids prepared by Cheshire County Council's Euro team.

It achieved an 80 per cent success rate involving four projects with a total cost of £134,608.

Successful bids were made on behalf of Vale Royal Borough Council, the Blacon Project, Chester City Council and Burton Manor College.

In Vale Royal a £23,912 grant will help local community organisations, led by the borough council, to establish a tele-network system bringing education training and job opportunity information to disadvantaged job seekers.

The on-line delivery system will be available at community locations in Winsford, Northwich, Weaverham and Frodsham. The total cost of the scheme is estimated at £52,480.

The Blacon Project, a community development agency tackling social and economic disadvantage on the Chester housing estate, gets £11,707 towards a £25,318 plan to establish an agency resource centre.

At Burton Manor £21,340 will go towards the £43,430 cost of enabling the charity National Youth Advocacy Service to improve its range of services to vulnerable young people.

And Chester City Council gets £6,690 to help with a range of building projects for voluntary and community organisations, which will cost £13,380.

Cty Clr Larry Toale, chairman of Cheshire's community development committee, said: "These Euro grants are vital because they provide invaluable support to community organisations working to help those in our society who perhaps need that help most.

"The schemes involved are all good examples of partnership working - an essential element in the successful regeneration of Cheshire's less privileged communities."

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