A COMMUNITY made infamous by kidnap mum Karen Matthews has won a £1 million Lottery jackpot.
Dewsbury Moor has landed the cash to be spent on community projects over the next decade. Propelled to national and international prominence by Matthews’ plot to abduct daughter Shannon, the area is one of 50 to benefit from the National Lottery’s Big Local programme.
Dewsbury Moor, which includes the Moorside Estate where the Matthews family lived, was chosen because of its levels of deprivation. The money must be spent on local projects for local people.
A special trust is to be set up, with local people involved, to decide which projects receive funding. The first awards could be made from October next year.
After Matthews and Shannon’s ‘uncle’ Mick Donovan were jailed for eight years for kidnap  Tory leader David Cameron branded Dewsbury Moor a symbol of Britain’s “broken society.”
He said Dewsbury Moor was “an estate where decency fights a losing battle against degradation and despair.”
Last August Mr Cameron had a private meeting with Moorside estate community leader Julie Bushby and apologised for his remarks.
Julie, formerly chairman of the now-defunct Moorside Tenants and Residents’ Association, said she hoped the lottery money would be used to bring the whole Dewsbury Moor community together.
“It is a big area - Moorside, Pilgrim, the Schools estate and Moorcroft - and I would like to see something of lasting benefit,” she said.
“We don’t want this money wasted on day trips for the kids. I think it should be used to build a community centre for the whole community right in the middle of Dewsbury Moor.
“That’s what the area needs. We could have bingo for the old folks during the day and the kids in at night. I would like to be involved and I think everyone in Dewsbury Moor should get a say in how this money is spent.”
Kirklees Council and Voluntary Action Kirklees were asked to nominate local communities where the award could be most effectively used.
Coun Peter O’Neill, Kirklees Cabinet member for communities, said: “This is wonderful news for the people of Dewsbury Moor and a great opportunity for the area.”