BRIDPORT'S innovative music project for young people, ZEST!, has won an award of £28,278.

The grant from the National Federation for Youth Music is the first to be given to any project in the county and means that the success of ZEST! can now be repeated in Beaminster and Lyme Regis.

Further funding of over £3,000 has been pledged by the district and county councils and from money raised from ZEST! performances.

The project gives young people their own entertainment platform by enabling them to stage and enjoy performances in a nightclub-style setting. ZEST! takes place regularly at the arts centre and the idea for it stemmed from young people themselves.

West Dorset's senior youth worker Arthur Woodgate said: "A key to the success of this project has been the involvement of so many young people.

"They thought of the idea and have put in the effort needed to make it work. When it came to the nitty-gritty of putting together a really quite complicated bid to Youth Music, adult contributors were outnumbered almost four to one by some very enthusiastic and dedicated young people."

ZEST! came about through a partnership between the arts centre, the youth assembly and the county council's youth and community service.

Arts centre director Chris Huxley said: "We are really delighted to have played a part in getting this initiative off the ground. It's certainly an enormous boost for young musicians in this area.

"It also points the way for further collaboration with the youth and community service, which we hope to see unfolding over the next few years."

District council leader Gwyn Pritchard said the funding was a great step forward for the ZEST! project.

"The money will enable young people from West Dorset to learn with professional musicians and give them a platform to perform locally.

"West Dorset District Council encourages this type of project and has already made plans to work with the local youth workers to try to attract further funding for other arts workshops."

Youth Music is a charity which was set up with lottery funding in 1999 through the Arts Council of England.

It provides grants for music-making for children up to the age of 18 who live in areas of social and economic need. By the end of the year, Youth Music aims to have reached more than one million people, providing many of them with their first-ever music making experiences.

Youth Music's regional co-ordinator Gilly Rudling said the success of the ZEST! application reflected the organisation's dedication to bringing music-making opportunities to young people, particularly in rural areas.

"The success so far of the project in Bridport has proved that the young people of West Dorset are eager to engage in musical activities. I am sure that those from Lyme, Beaminster and the surrounding area will be inspired by this exciting programme."