MORE than 78,950 people living in Shropshire are benefitting from grants from the Severn Trent Community Fund, with £130,112 awarded across six local projects in the last year.

Projects spanning the region have been supported by the fund, including Shropshire Council’s Shining Light on Stanmore Country Park, near Bridgenorth, which received a grant of £65,582 to support a range of improvements to enhance and protect the 40-acre park, including upgrades to paths to make them accessible, woodland management and habitat improvements.

A further £8,467 was granted to the Mother Shippon Rural Art Hub.

The Severn Trent Community Fund launched in 2020 and is aiming to give out more than £10m over the next five years to support community projects across the region.

Sue Heyes, Severn Trent Community Fund advisor said: “We are continually on the lookout for projects such as these which offer a genuinely fantastic service to local people but lack the necessary funding to get going. We would love to hear from any community-based organisation which feels that they have a fantastic project that would benefit from a funding boost