Party cash for groups.

DEWSBURY has been allocated a slice of funding to make sure the diamond jubilee celebrations go with a bang.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has confirmed the town will receive some of the pounds 185,000 allocated to help plan and hold street parties and events.

The Big Jubilee Lunch fund has been shared between 20 towns nationwide.

The money will be used by the Big Jubilee Lunch organisers, the Eden Project, to identify and support selected areas where there has been little or no participation to date, boosting communities' confidence to host their own event. The money will be spent over two years.

Organisers will work with community volunteers and leaders to encourage local residents to participate in the event locally, and foster better community relations. Each community will be free to decide how to use its funding in the manner that best matches its needs.

Clr Jean Calvert, Kirklees Council's cabinet member for wellbeing and communities, said: "This funding is welcome to help kick start some of the community involvement in the celebrations.

"It would be fantastic if some of the community work that will go into planning street parties and the like can be the start and develop into much closer relations in the future."