ENTREPRENEUR Debbie Allenby of Carperby hopes her new venture will benefit every section of the Dales community – visitors, locals, other small businesses and charities.

Already involved in voluntary work as a school governor, director of two children’s choirs and craft show organiser, Debbie, 39, has launched a voucher scheme, Dalesbook, with the support of dozens of local companies.

A £20 book of vouchers offering potential savings of £1,000 on a range of goods and services will be sold through National Park visitor centres, guest houses, shops, and her own website, www.dalesbook.co.uk.

For every book sold £1 will go directly to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, and up to £3 more to other charities selected annually by a board of trustees. Schools and other organisations selling the vouchers at craft fairs, coffee mornings and fundraising events will be able to keep a proportion of the proceeds.

Debbie, a mother-of-three, has worked part-time in marketing and tourism for 15 years, and also has holiday cottages.

“I wanted to find a way of offering guests extra benefits with discounts from good quality local businesses. After a lot of research I could see how the scheme could grow to incorporate more organisations. I also needed a business I could run from home, as there are virtually no child care facilities in the Dales, so this just ticked all the boxes for me,” she says.

David Reilly, owner of Yorebridge House, one of fifty-plus businesses supporting the scheme - with vouchers for a free bottle of wine, and tea for two at the award-winning Bainbridge hotel - is stocking books for guests.

“It’s a great way of raising awareness of how much is on offer in the area and especially good for small businesses who don’t have a lot of cash for advertising. It doesn’t cost them a penny to get their name in the book and there are some excellent offers,” he says.

There are vouchers for Lightwater Valley, Ingleborough caves, the Wensleydale Railway, the Dales Countryside Museum and the Creamery in Hawes, and the Wensleydale Heiffer at West Witton among others.