VIEWERS VOTE MEANS SHARE OF PEOPLE'S MILLIONS FOR WOODTHORPE FISHING PONDS

The votes are in and Woodthorpe Development Trust in Sheffield is celebrating its win today in the People's Millions contest after viewers across the Yorkshire ITV region voted them winners of a Big Lottery Fund £50,000 award.

The group is among the final round of winners in this ground-breaking initiative between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV who have teamed up to bring viewers the People's Millions, giving the public a direct say on where lottery funding will go to benefit local communities.

Woodthorpe Development Trust will use the winnings to restore a local fish pond. The pond has been a focal point for the neighbourhood, but has now fallen into a state of disrepair. The cash will contribute to the cost of restoring the pond, including removing excess soil, silt and vegetation which is damaging the pond and steadily reducing the water level.

A total of £2.5 million in Big Lottery Fund cash is up for public vote. Projects in each ITV region are going head-to-head on television to win one of the 50 awards of up to £50,000 cash.

The competing projects are being showcased on ITV regional evening news programmes all this week. The winners from each contest are being announced the next day.

Across the UK, one hundred projects are competing for the cash roll-out to help make their community a better place to live. Viewers will see the projects on TV and vote by phone and text to support their favourite.

Projects bidding for the lottery cash are all offering ways of improving their local environment.

Woodthorpe Development Trust appeared on Thursday's Yorkshire ITV regional news to make their case to the viewers. In all 3,204 members of the public in the region cast their vote in the competition.

Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund said: "The Big Lottery Fund is delighted by the public response to People's Millions and I would like to offer my congratulations to the winners announced today. The work that these projects will be able to do thanks to Lottery funding has ultimately been made possible by the public engaging in the process of choosing how funds are allocated.

Charles Allen, Chief Executive of ITV PLC said: "Our viewers' response to People's Millions has been great. ITV's regional news is at the heart of communities across the UK, and our viewers have shown how much they care about their communities. Giving our viewers the chance to decide where Lottery grants of up to £50,000 can best improve their area is a great way for us to celebrate our 50th birthday."

There are 50 awards of up to £50,000 to be won during 2005. This is the first part of the People's Millions initiative with £15 million in grants to be given out across three years.

Over the next three years £66.5 million in lottery funding will be awarded to community projects. The joint public involvement initiative between ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will run across 2005 to 2007. Ends copy//

Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

On Monday 25 May 2005, the Government published the Lottery Bill, which will allow Lottery distributors to take account of public consultation in making decisions on where Lottery good cause money will go. Available from http://www.publications.parliament.uk

Big Lottery Fund is the joint operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which made grants under the name of the Community Fund). The Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.

The Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money. To date, the two merged Funds have committed more than £5 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, voluntary, charity and private sectors, with a particular focus on disadvantage.

* ITV in the People's Millions:

ITV Border ITV Tyne Tees ITV Granada ITV Yorkshire ITV Anglia (East) ITV Anglia (West) ITV Central (East) ITV Central (West) ITV Central (South) ITV West ITV Wales ITV Westcountry

ITV Meridian(West) ITV Meridian (South) ITV Meridian (South East) ITV London Grampian Scottish UTV

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