DEPRIVED communities are to benefit from £14 million of funding for 18 local projects, Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess has announced.

The money has been allocated under the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund developed by the Scottish Government alongside councils to deliver new infrastructure in deprived areas.

The latest awards include £1.4 million towards the Denny town centre regeneration project; £1.3m for a community campus in the Menzieshill area of Dundee that will provide a GP surgery, library and community space; £1.63 million to support the Middlefield Community Project in Aberdeen; and £1.8 million for the restoration of a derelict and vacant landmark building in Parkhead, Glasgow.