LOTTERY fever is taking over at Bolton Council - and they've created a full-time post to deal with it. Newly installed Lottery Officer Vivienne Morris says: "The idea is to promote the Lottery and get as much money into Bolton as possible. "Current estimates suggest that every year Camelot will have at least £750m to give out for the five good causes - heritage, art, sport, charity and the millennium - so the potential is enormous."

Although the Lottery officer is a new post it is not a new job.

Vivienne is on a two year secondment from her job as an officer in the section which gives out grants to the voluntary sector, and her old job has not been filled.

The new job involves co-ordinating bids made by the council to the various funds and hopefully overseeing bids made by other bodies across the borough.

She said: "People don't have to come through us to make a bid but if they do it will make life a lot easier. What we intend to do is to keep tabs on all bids made to see which are successful and which are not.

"Then we will have an idea of what the Lottery people are looking for.

"We are also here to give advice on bidding for Lottery money."

In the next few weeks Vivienne will be launching an information pack which will spell out to local bodies how to make a bid.

"And there's a form at the back which they can fill in outlining their bid which we can then use as a record."

On the charity side Vivienne is working with Bolton's Council for Voluntary Services.

She added: "There's enormous funds available for the voluntary sector and we want to plug into that." The first successes were announced yesterday.

Vivienne said: "The next round opens on November 27 with the emphasis on schemes which concentrate on youth and poverty.

"We want Bolton to get as much of that money as it can."

Another area that Bolton is concentrating on is the Millennium.

"We will soon be launching our millennium campaign," says Vivienne.

"We will be looking for ideas from the public and then turning these into bids. The idea is to get money which will fund a suitable celebration to mark the end of the century."

The council is also putting in bids for cash to the sports fund - for a new gym at Horwich leisure centre and money to upgrade playing fields across the borough.

And it is considering bidding to the heritage fund for money to refurbish Smithills Hall.

If you would like more information contact Vivienne in the chief executive's support team on 522311.

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