Thousands of pounds of funding is up for grabs for groups in areas of Norfolk and Suffolk with projects which benefit the community, environment or heritage.

Thousands of pounds of funding is up for grabs for groups in areas of Norfolk and Suffolk with projects which benefit the community, environment or heritage.

More than �118m has been handed out nationwide since 1997 when Waste Recycling Environmental (Wren) was formed to deal with the cash generated from a voluntary environmental tax credit scheme.

Groups within 10 miles of Waste Recycling Group (WRG) landfill sites, which pay the fees, are entitled to bid for funds, including at King's Lynn, Feltwell and Aldeby.

Sarah Gosling, project manager for Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, said: “The money makes a huge amount of difference to local projects.

“Like all funding, Wren's money is limited - we are expecting �12m from WRG across the country this year. We wish we had a never-ending pot so we could fund every project that comes our way, but that's just not possible. So it's really important when bidding for funding that we can see it's going to have maximum benefits for the community.”

Wren used to be able to also fund projects near to waste transfer stations, but since 2008 only projects within a 10-mile radius of a landfill site are considered, which means schemes in Norwich are no longer eligible.

Funding is awarded four times a year, with deadlines for the small grant scheme - of between �2,000 and �15,000 considered when the total project is under �50,000, and the main grant scheme, offering funding of between �15,001 and �50,000 - on November 27.

The third scheme, the Biodiversity Action Fund, provides funding of between �75,000 and �250,000 and has a deadline of January 31 next year for applications.

To find out if a project is eligible for funding call 01953 717165.