A HERITAGE group has secured thousands of pounds in funding from the National Lottery.

The Halstead 21st Century Group work to conserve the town’s heritage and green spaces.

The group has now been awarded £13,300 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a brand new 15 month project.

Called the Readiness and Resilience Project, the group hopes to further promote and preserve Halstead’s historic assets and green spaces in the future.

The group has grown considerably since its formation in 2013 members say the organisation needs to be stronger to do more for Halstead’s heritage.

The new project is set to begin in February.

Some of the money will be spent on a new interactive website to digitally showcase the town’s heritage.

The project will also create training and development activities which are aimed to strengthen the organisation and provide exciting opportunities for volunteers .

Chairman Eileen Page said: “This is wonderful news. It’s going to benefit our group, our community and our heritage – and it’s all thanks to National Lottery players.

“This project will provide a very important and solid building block for the group and its charitable aims, and we’ll reap its benefits for years to come.”

The Halstead 21st Century Group has been a registered charity since November 2018.

The group formed in protest to the development and threat to Halstead’s woodlands and heritage assets, but has grown and become involved in more activities.

Members can often be found manning educational and promotional displays at events such as the Christmas and May Day fayres.

They have also worked with other organisation, such as the local history Society and Empire Theatre, on projects including the Heritage Open Days Scheme.

National Lottery spokesman Anne Jenkins said: “We’re delighted to have funded Halstead 21st Century Group for their Readiness and Resilience project, which will ensure the organisation is fully equipped to continue their fantastic conservation and heritage protection work.”