A VILLAGE green improvement scheme at Wellington Heath, near Ledbury, has won a national award and extra funding.

Community Voluntary Action, Ledbury and District, and the Pool Piece Village Green Working Group are the winners of the "Recreation" category in this year's Biffa Awards.

As winners, the team gets £1500 in prize money, to further develop the community project.

The news has been welcomed by Wellington Heath parishoner, Peter Constantine, chairman of the village's Neighbourhood Plan group.

Mr Constantine, who said he was involved with the early stages of the Pool Piece project, but took no credit for the latest success, said the man most deserving of praise was David Darward, the leader of the Pool Piece Working Group.

Mr Constantine said of the award night success: "I think this is terrific news, and hats off to the guys who have worked so hard to make it happen and continue to work hard, and Mr Darwood has been the glue, holding it all together."

The Pool Piece project received £28,171 in funding from Biffa Award to improve an area of land, known as Pool Piece, near the Farmers Arms pub, for a range of community activities.

The Pool Piece Village Green Working Group together with Community Voluntary Action, Ledbury and District were named as winner of the Recreation category for their Pool Piece ‘Village Green’ Improvement Scheme project on October 1.

Competing against other Recreation awardees from across the UK, they received £1,500 in prize money, which they can use to further develop their project.

A Biffa Awards spokesman said: "This community driven has turned an overgrown site with bad access into a real asset to the village and its residents."

Administered by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, Biffa Award awards grants to environmental and community projects, using landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Group Ltd.

This year more than 240 completed projects competed to win a prize in one of five categories, including Community Buildings, Recreation, Small Grants, Cultural Facilities and Rebuilding Biodiversity.

This year’s Awards were held today at the newly renovated Coventry Transport Museum. The theme for the Awards was ‘Building Communities. Transforming Lives.’ and sought to celebrate the people behind the projects, and the work they do.

Gillian French, Biffa Award Programme Manager, said: “The Biffa Awards are a unique opportunity to celebrate and reward the dedicated people who are delivering some of the excellent projects we have funded. All of our projects deserve recognition for the work they do, but we are delighted for the Community Voluntary Action, Ledbury and District on their success at this year’s Awards. Pool Piece is a fabulous space, the community should be really proud of all the hard work that went into its creation.”