TWO projects are celebrating National Lottery awards of almost £160,000.

Ribble Valley Borough Council gets £99,000 from the Lottery's Small Scale Capital Fund and the Dugdale Memorial Bowling Club in Blackburn has received almost £60,000 from the Sport England Lottery Fund.

Ribble Valley's the first major lottery grant it has received. The money will help refurbish the Platform Gallery at Station Road and establish it as a centre of excellence for crafts in the North West.

Display space and equipment throughout the gallery -- which opened in 1994 -- will be upgraded and an education room will be created to put on practical workshops to accompany exhibitions.

The grant to the bowling club comes as great news to its members, the oldest of which is 90-year-old Esther Pickup.

The money will be used to build new facilities at the Newcastle Street, Blackburn site, which if all goes according to plan, will be big enough to house a small, indoor bowling facility.

Dugdale Memorial holds regular sessions for schoolchildren with coaches from the British Crown Green Bowling Association and attracts 25-30 children a week.

Club member Frank Counsell said: "It's brilliant news, the club is not particularly big but we work hard in the local community."