ENVIRONMENTAL and community projects close to a North Yorkshire company’s waste sites have benefited from funding over half a million pounds.

Children’s play areas, a railway station, village halls and sports facilities were among 30 projects that received funding of £528,305 from Yorventure in 2016/17.

Yorventure is a registered environmental body which distributes funds generated through the landfill operations of Yorwaste.

Yorwaste's group operations director Geoff Derham said: “There have been some excellent examples this year of projects which have received grants to improve the environment and the local community in general.

“We continue to be proud to have been able to provide support across our operating area of North Yorkshire.”

Yorventure chairman Neil Carrigan added: “We are enormously grateful to Yorwaste for twenty years of contributions to the Landfill Communities Fund, amounting to almost £14m, which have funded a marvellous range of community and environmental projects through the Yorventure fund.

“The community groups who have planned and delivered these projects have provided the most valuable social goods across North Yorkshire and the City of York using the Yorventure funding.

"We are grateful to them for their vision and energy over the years, and we are proud to have been able to work with them.”

This year's many grants included £28,950 for Morton-on-Swale Parish Council's play area.

Work to create Scruton Station's service platform, near Northallerton, was awarded £22,280 allowing locals to access local towns and Topcliffe and Asenby village hall was awarded £37,020 towards a new toilet block.