A regional daily has launched a new campaign to hand out £250,000 of lottery cash to local good causes.

The Eastern Daily Press has joined forced with the Big Lottery Fund to help distribute £250,000 to community projects in its circulation area.

The paper is inviting local groups to bid for grants of between £10,000 and £30,000 and is encouraging readers to think about how funding could benefit their local areas.

As part of the campaign, readers will have the final say on where the money goes with a two-week voting period in September.

In a story to launch the fund, editor Nigel Pickover said: “I’m really excited about this campaign. To have the opportunity to help distribute £250,000 to community projects in our area is an amazing opportunity.

“At the EDP we pride ourselves in being at the heart of our communities and we read about the great work of various projects on the pages of our newspaper and website every day.

“The chance to work with the Big Lottery Fund on this campaign allows us to offer projects a very significant amount of funding. I hope many projects apply for their chance to get some of the cash being made available.”

Groups have a deadline of 14 July to apply for funding ahead of a shortlist being announced on 2 September.

Every day for two weeks, readers will then have the chance to vote for the projects they would like to see get the cash and those with the highest votes will win funding.

Dharmendra Kanani, Big Lottery Fund’s England director, said: “£250,000 is a lot of money and can make a huge difference in Norfolk. We are looking for community groups to put their heads together to come up with the best ideas that will not only involve and benefit the community but also capture the imaginations of readers to inspire them to vote.

“The power of community can have such a big impact in a local area, add some money to the equation and the opportunities are remarkable.”