The scheme allows communities to work together

Five awards have been made through the Heritage Lottery Fund's Landscape Partnership scheme.

It allows community partnerships to work together to tackle the environmental needs of their areas.

The five projects to be awarded grants are in North Cornwall, mid Argyll, North Pennines, the Lake District and north-east Wales.

Heritage Lottery Fund director Carole Souter said: "This Heritage Lottery Fund scheme is unique because it looks at the whole landscape, seeking to restore and celebrate all the elements which make it what it is, from habitats and endangered species, to historic buildings and cultural traditions.

Rural heritage

"No one else is bringing culture and nature together in this way."

The Atlantic Coast and Valleys Project in North Cornwall receives �1.3m plus �148,000 development funding.

Mid Argyll's Dalriada Project gets �1.8m together with �145,000 development funding.

In the North Pennines, A Landscape Moulded by People receives �2m and �41,300 development funding.

Bassenthwaite Lake, in the Lake District National Park, gets �1.9m and �38,400 development funding.

And Heather and Hillforts in the mountains of north-east Wales receives �1.5m and �102,300 development funding.

Rural affairs minister Jim Knight said: "All of these projects are extremely exciting as they are both contributing to the preservation and restoration of Britain's valued rural heritage and safeguarding it for future generations."