A centre offering mental health support for local people has been awarded nearly £300,000 in National Lottery funding. 

Staff at the Burrough Harmony Centre in Bridport are celebrating news of the £299,086 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Harmony will use the funding to continue the development of its mental health and wellbeing services to meet local needs.

It will take on more staff and improve facilities.

Ali Cliffe, Harmony trustee, said: “Thanks to this National Lottery funding supported by National Lottery players, we can develop our capacity and, working in partnership with other local organisations, provide a better mental health and wellbeing hub for the benefit of the whole community.”

Carrie Gamble, Harmony Services Manager, said the money will 'make a big difference to the wellbeing of the community and people’s lives'.

She added: “This is great news. We have worked with people from the local community who have connected with our services in many different ways to develop a vision of a truly community focused service that supports mental health and wellbeing for everyone.

"It means that we will be able to develop the dreams and aspirations we have to create a vibrant and welcoming place for everyone to access when they need to.”

The new National Lottery funding project starts in April and Harmony looks forward to celebrating with their members, partner organisations and the local community when they will unveil more details of the plans.

National Lottery players raise more than £30 million a week for good causes across the UK.

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

Amongst other activities, Harmony holds regular drop-in sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm and runs the Community Front Room Thursday to Sunday from 2.15pm to 9.45pm for people who feel they need some crisis support from its premises in Gundry Lane, Bridport.

More information is available online at www.harmonydropin.org.uk