AMENITY groups, residents' associations and charities have the chance to access Government funding to help improve the green spaces in their communities.

The Government has set aside £30m to fund its Living Spaces programme, intended to help recover derelict and neglected land for public use.

Grants of between £1,000 and £100,000 will be available to chosen projects, with the list including play areas, community gardens, parks, nature areas, village squares and greens.

If a project is eligible for a grant, it will be allocated a local "enabler" who will help to prepare a budget and plan the scheme.

The awards are part of a new determination to recover disused and redundant land for public use, which is being driven by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

The commission has identified 2,990 hectares of vacant and derelict land in the South East alone.

Part of the problem is caused by housing developers buying stocks of land in the expectation that they will obtain planning permission at some time in the future, but having no interest in it in the meantime.

In a survey of leading developers, the commission said that some held stocks of land that would keep them going for five years based on their current annual completion rates.

To receive an application pack for Living Spaces, e-mail info@livingspaces.org.uk or phone 0845 600 3190.

For more information on CABE, call 020 7960 2400.