A LOTTERY project that has helped to transform Rose Hill will carry on for another four years after being given a major new grant.

For the past five years lottery funding has allowed thousands of participants to take part in dozens of events and has supported hundreds of sessions of the junior youth club.

But the project’s funding period came to an end on November 30, leaving the future of the various activities up in the air.

On Tuesday the uncertainty came to an end when GreenSquare housing association was handed £458,100 from the Big Lottery Fund to continue and develop the project.

GreenSquare will provide another £47,397 and Oxford City Council will pay in £61,000 to bring the funding up to a total of £566,497.

Rose Hill community worker Fran Gardner, who has been heavily involved in the project since it started in 2011, said she was delighted.

She said: “This is simply fantastic news.

“It’s such an incredible amount of money and really will make all the difference to the lives of many in Rose Hill.

“Not only will the grant help children and young people but it will increase opportunities for adults facing barriers into training, employment, volunteering and community involvement.”

Over the past five years 170 people have volunteered with the project – giving up 8,362 hours of their time.

Junior youth club grew from 11 children each week to 180 and other initiatives included a health bus and a tooth bus that visited the estate to provide medical and dental care.

The next four years will include a partnership with charity Aspire Oxford to help adults from the estate into training and employment.

Oxford city councillor for Rose Hill Ed Turner said: “I am over the moon at this bid.

“The lottery project has made a huge and positive impact in Rose Hill so far, with a particular highlight being the thriving junior youth club.

“The new funding gives us a great chance to improve Rose Hill further.

“This success would not have been possible without a great deal of commitment from local people and our excellent community development worker Fran Gardner.”

Ms Gardner will continue to be supported by a part-time project administrator and project assistant.

The Big Lottery Fund hands more than £650m out each year as part of 12,000 grants across the United Kingdom for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.

Big Lottery Fund director of responsive programmes James Harcourt said: “It is great to see so many projects up and down the country bringing such a positive change to their communities.”