A community project in Barton Hill has won a national award for its work in bridging cultures.

The awards were organised by the Institute for Community Cohesion (icoco) and The Baring Foundation and took place at The RSA in London.

Barton Hill Settlement runs a project called The Barton Hill Together project that aims to address community tensions in the area.

Residents involved in the project were encouraged to learn about and explore different cultures through different activities.

Cultural awareness training was developed and targeted at all communities and seven different multicultural feasts were organised, attended by more than 1,000 people.

A residents' training event took place with workshops on communication skills, team building, communities and equalities, and there is also a Play Ranger Project that works with children and young people aged between five and 16 years in areas where they are already playing, working closely alongside volunteer parents and other adults to pass on their skills and attitudes to play. The judging panel said: "The judges were impressed at this frontline approach to tackling community tensions in an area where demographic change has happened so quickly.

"They were especially impressed at the development of the Play Rangers Scheme and investment in training for local residents so they could become 'community bridge builders'." Gary Blake, community development manager at Barton Hill Settlement, said: "Winning this award is acknowledgment of all the hard work by people in Barton Hill. This work has been carried out by many different people, workers, volunteers and residents. This project has worked hard to dispel myths and promote understanding."