A £10,000 Lottery grant will help an Oxford community group transform what was once derelict wasteland into a blossoming garden.

The Barracks Lane Community Garden project in East Oxford has been given the cash by the Awards for All scheme and, together with grants from other organisations such as the Trust for Oxfordshire Environment and the Oxfordshire Preservation Trust, it now has about £40,000 to make their plans a reality.

The former wasteland - notorious for drug use and prostitution - was secured from the city council by residents in March but the project's trustees say they have been entangled by red tape ever since. The project is now getting off the ground and looks to set to open its doors by next spring.

Helen Osborn, treasurer of the group, said: "We are really pleased with this latest award. It is brilliant news.

"The amount we received is the most we could have been awarded so we are all delighted.

"We have lots of ideas and enthusiasm and are raring to go."

The cash will be used to run community events such as arts and crafts workshops and recycling events.

"We really want to get the community into the garden," said Mrs Osborn. "We want to help regenerate the area and make it feel like it's a safer place to live and be. This cash will mean things can start to happen.

"The contractors are due to start in January when they will be taking up concrete. We will then have a company come in to do the initial landscaping and hope to be open to the general public by the spring."

She added: "We will hold some tree planting events and hopefully raise some sponsorship locally for trees and plants.

"Getting the project off the ground hasn't always been easy and we've come along quite a rocky road but it all seems worth it now. It will be brilliant to establish a community garden in an area where there hasn't always been a strong community feel."

Mrs Osborn said people can sometimes feel intimidated about using some of the public spaces in the area, but the group is hopeful the community garden project will change that.

She said: "Hopefully the garden will be more sheltered and the fact more volunteers are getting involved will enhance the sense of ownership."

Last month, the group appeared on ITV News when it went head to head with a community group from Gloucestershire in a bid to win a £50,000 Lottery grant. Viewers decided which project to support by phoning, texting or e-mailing the programme and although the Oxford group lost, Mrs Osborn said they enjoyed the experience.