RAMSBOTTOM'S Peel Lions Club is being urged to set up a Charitable Trust Fund to ensure future success with National Lottery grants.

The advice follows the club's rebuff by the National Lottery Charities Board in December for a £52,000 grant towards the creation of a second state-of-the-art carriage for disabled passengers on the ELR tourism line.

The NLCB rejected the application for "failing to meet strict legal criteria" and brought into question the national organisation's role as a community based charity. Bury Lions were also refused a £20,000 grant to improve the local hospitals' radio station for not being a charitable group.

Now, after seeking legal advice, the District Governor for the North West, Mr Bob Brooks admitted their was nothing in the international organisation's manifesto to say they were a charitable group, although a review will take place. "The way forward for all clubs is to set up a Charitable Trust fund and apply for lottery assistance through that fund and not their club name," he said.

"We are going through a transitional period at the moment and finding out things to do with lottery funding by trial and error. It seems ludicrous that community causes looking for support are refused lottery assistance."

The Peel Lions shelved the construction of a second disabled passenger rail carriage following the lottery rebuff. Raising on average £6,000 a year, funding of the project would swallow charitable resources for the next decade.

Said Mr Brooks: " The Peel Lions scheme is very imaginative and beneficial to the community. It would be a shame not to see it go ahead but now there is some light at the end of the tunnel by setting up a trust fund."

Mr Peter Hepburn of the Peel Lions said further discussions would have to take place with the committee as to whether any application would be re-submitted for the rail carriage.

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