Residents who want to know how to go about taking over their own public open space are being pointed towards a group in Ledbury.

This community group used funding from the Herefordshire Council run Public Green Spaces Community Grant Scheme to run an incredibly successful project in 2014, which has helped to secure independent funding for a further two years.

Herefordshire Council has re-launched its Public Green Spaces Community Grant Scheme to provide funding for local community groups to maintain and enhance the county's green spaces.

The scheme, which was first developed last year in response to reductions in grass cutting, offers a small fund of up to £750 to help local community groups within the county to bring ideas and projects to life for maintaining and enhancing public green spaces. The scheme particularly aims to support projects which incorporate community involvement and promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Councillor Paul Rone, Cabinet member for transport and roads, said: "The council needs to severely reduce its spending in light of significant reductions in government funding, which means we need to spend less in certain areas in order to protect our priority services.

"We are keen to encourage communities to do more for themselves and one way is to form a community group to maintain and improve a local green space. This not only helps the council to spend less money but also brings green spaces back into use and creates a sense of community pride and spirit by bringing communities together."

The health benefits that a public green space can provide also can't be ignored, which is why this year's fund offers an additional £250 to pay for sports, gardening or recreational equipment for the community to enjoy.

The deadline for all applications is Friday, July 10th. To find out more about the scheme, read the Prince Rupert Green case study and make an application, please visit http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/grants">www.herefordshire.gov.uk/grants.