NEW tents, plants and bird boxes are among the purchases to be made thanks to a new fund for community projects in Durham.

The City of Durham Parish Council has £15,000 to give to voluntary and community groups working in the area.

It has given the cash to 11 groups in the city, including Gilesgate Scouts, which will buy new camping equipment, Durham Youth Project, which will use the funding for hall hire to allow it to run drop-in sessions and Durham Samaritans, which will refurbish its face-to-face walk-in room.

The City of Sanctuary, which works with Syrian refugee families resettling in County Durham, will use its funding for training purposes, while Oases has been given money to plant trees and flowers in the Neville's Cross area and Durham Hospital Radio, which broadcasts to patients at the University Hospital of North Durham, will use their money to replace equipment.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott, chairwoman of the council. said: "The City of Durham Parish Council is extremely proud to support such a large number of local community and voluntary organisations through its grant awards this year.

The Northern Echo:

Gilesgate Scouts group was given funding for new camping equipment

"They all do invaluable work to make the lives of our residents better and its right that we do all we can to support these hard-working dedicated volunteers who too often go unsung in our communities. They are simply inspirational.

"This is really an avenue of support for these organisations which did not exist prior to the parish council being set up and I was thrilled that the parish council collectively agreed to allocate this funding towards grant awards.

"As a result of this decision, we now see a scheme getting rough sleepers off the streets and into a local sanctuary being set up by Sanctuary 21, a new face-to-face walk in room for those in need being established at Durham Samaritans, we see our vital youth service projects supported, an award winning hospital radio able to continue broadcasting to patients and in many cases this funding has gone to helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

Eileen Thompson, fundraising manager at Durham Hospital Radio, said the funding would be a "terrific boost" to the group.

She added: “Everyone at Durham Hospitals Radio is absolutely thrilled to receive this generous grant from City of Durham Parish Council. It is a terrific boost for our project to update vital equipment in our studios at the UHND to better serve the needs of our patients."