COMMUNITY groups in Kirklees have received almost £260,000 in lottery grants.

Chickenley Playgroup has received £61,912, the Huddersfield women's support service Womenspace were given £144,707 and Batley Carr community art group Mosaic £51,980.

The cash has come from the lottery's fair share initiative, which aims to make sure that more cash goes to disadvantaged areas that have previously missed out on lottery money.

Kirklees is one of those areas and is due to have a further £1m spent on it before March, 2005.

Ruth Foster, chair of Chickenley Playgroup advisory committee, said their cash would be spent mainly on running costs, recruiting three new playworkers and training volunteers from the local community.

The new staff are needed because the playgroup now opens mornings and afternoons, five days a week.

Womenspace, based on Railway Street, is run by women volunteers to help Kirklees women from all walks of life achieve their full potential.

It offers a drop-in centre for social meetings or advice on family issues, domestic violence, education, training benefits and much more.

A play area for children is available during drop-in hours.

It also offers one-to-one confidential counselling, pregnancy testing, education on healthy living, relaxation and confidence building.

There is a special drop-in service on Fridays for women refugees or asylum seekers.

Womenspace plans to spend its lottery cash on volunteer recruitment and training and new projects.

Elaine Armsden, co-ordinator, said: "The lottery cash will really help with our volunteer recruitment programme. It will also help us in planning several new projects."

Mosaic - Multi-Organisational Support for Arts in Communities - is a group of local residents and professionals working to co-ordinate arts projects and involve residents in creative activities.

Mosaic employs an arts co-ordinator to undertake development work with local groups and to organise taster art projects for adults, children and young people.

The lottery cash will be used to continue this work.