BIG LOTTERY FUND AND THE BLACK COUNTRY

That this House congratulates all the projects that have reached the short list of the BIG Lottery Fund's The People's £50 million contest; recognises that the BIG Lottery vote provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for people to make a real difference to their communities and the environment in which they live; in the light of this, calls upon hon. Members and the public to support The Black Country as an Urban Park project, where the targeted application of this money will provide a focus for transformation and participation for the one million people who live in the Black Country, an area at the heart of the nation's industrial heritage, including not only sites of global geological importance but also some of the poorest and most environmentally degraded in the country; and hopes that the BIG Lottery Fund can be used to support the area, which has not previously received Lottery funding on any scale like this and which would harness the ambition and active involvement of the people and communities who live there to create a superb natural and urban environment for the whole country to enjoy.