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The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a grant of £24, 000 to Denbighshire Heritage Service for the Merseyside Connections mosaic project, it was announced today.

The project - which compliments Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 - will involve young people in Denbighshire creating a mosaic trail based on the county’s connections with Merseyside. Subjects covered will include the Resurgam submarine, H M Stanley, Vale of Clwyd evacuees and many, many more. The young people involved in the project will learn new lifelong skills and discover more about the richness of their county. They will also have the opportunity to visit Merseyside to understand and be inspired by the stories of the Welsh community who passed through the city. The visit will be facilitated by National Museums Liverpool and the Liverpool Welsh Society.

Mosaic artist, Tricia Jones, has been engaged to run the workshops. She, together with members of Denbighshire Youth Service, will work with young people to formulate their ideas and the final locations for the mosaics.

The completed mosaic trail will lead from Rhyl in the north of Denbighshire to Llangollen in the south with the initial, outlying mosaic being located on the docks in Liverpool. The latter, which will be created by children from the ‘Welsh’ streets in Liverpool, will reflect the voyage of the Mimosa – a ship in which many Welsh people sailed to Patagonia.

Once the mosaic trail has been completed the project participants will produce a web-site and leaflet that will be available to anyone who wishes to visit the trail and learn more about the links that exist between Denbighshire and Merseyside.

Commenting on the award, Lead member for regeneration, Councillor David Thomas, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding for a project which will provide an exciting opportunity for the young people of Denbighshire to get involved in making the mosaics. As well as this, we will be building on our links with Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture for 2008 and when finished, these colourful mosaics will also enhance areas of our towns across the county and create further interest for our visitors and residents alike.”