The National Lottery is 15 years old today. How much of the £1bn jackpot fund has ended up in Shropshire?

Keith and Louise Gough, of Bridgnorth, celebrated winning £9 million by popping a bottle of champagne

It’s the same each week. You trundle along to the newsagent’s, hand over your pound coin and resign yourself to an evening of disappointment on the sofa.

Come nine o’clock, you settle down in front of the TV and wait for Jenni Falconer to deliver the bad news.

“This week, one lucky winner is going to scoop £8 million,” she trills.

“It could be you . . . .” booms the studio sound system. But you know, in your heart of hearts, that it won’t be.

As a nation, we’ve been enduring the same routine for 15 years. The National Lottery was launched on November 19 1994, with scratchcards, Lotto Extra, Lotto HotPicks, Daily Play, Interactive Instant Win Games, Euro Millions and other games following hot on its heels.

There have been a handful of Shropshire winners who’ve defied the odds and scooped big prizes, of course. Lucky winners in Shropshire have scooped tens of millions from a jackpot fund of around £1 billion. The lives of Louise and Keith Gough, of Bridgnorth, were changed forever when they scooped £9,001,406 in June 2005 while the biggest syndicate winner was from the Palethorpes Pie Factory, at Market Drayton, which netted £6,750,278.40, working out at a win of £204,553.89 for each of the 33 members. In more recent times, David and Marina Williams, of Telford, won almost £1 million in September 30. To date, there have been around 30 publically-acknowledged winners.

Julia Fisher, spokeswoman for the National Lottery, said while Shropshire did not necessarily win more than other counties around the UK, the region’s successful ticket holders were first in the queue when it came to claiming their winnings.

She said: “In other parts of the country, prizes can go unclaimed for a variety of reasons. However, our data shows that in Shropshire, people always follow through and claim their winnings.”

But investing your £1 each week is about more than taking a shot at the big time. Since 1994 over £23 billion ­– that’s £25 million each week – has been raised by Lottery players for the arts, sport, heritage, environment, education, health, charity and voluntary sectors across the UK. From museums, parks and historic building to archaeology, the natural environment and traditional skills, every part of the UK’s diverse heritage has been invested in.

HLF is the nation’s largest heritage funder and it has supported more than 28,800 projects, allocating over £4.3 billion across the country.

Anne Jenkins, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the West Midlands, says plenty of that money has gone to Shropshire.

She said: “Reaching our 15th year is a great achievement for the Heritage Lottery Fund. In Shropshire alone we have invested over £47.5 million in just under 400 projects, celebrating the fantastic diversity of the county’s heritage.

“Far from just preserving our wonderful museums and ancient buildings, this is also about conserving the natural world, opening up and improving our beautiful parks and landscapes, and facilitating access and learning. It is about helping people to gain new skills, working with volunteers of all ages, and energising local communities to get involved in and make decisions about their heritage.”

Shropshire has received cash for a wide range of projects, tailored to help people of all ages.

Anne added: “These projects from around Shropshire illustrate the breadth and diversity of our funding. From opening up our industrial heritage at the Limeworks, to embracing and conserving the biodiversity of the Hollies, encouraging young people to learn about the courage and sacrifice of those who fought in World War II, to giving Shrewsbury’s well-used town park a new lease of life, they show just how Lottery players’ cash has made a difference to people’s lives and the world around them.”

There have been many beneficiaries of the Lottery’s largesse. Shrewsbury Music Hall, South Shropshire Youth Forum, Jackfield Tile Museum and South Shropshire Youth Forum have all won grants. The impact on local communities and local people has been extensive.

In Mid Wales, Llanymynech Limeworks received a £492,000 grant to create The Story of Limestone, for an open-air museum where buildings were in a dilapidated condition. Mining at Llanymynech dates back to Roman times and during the past two centuries, the site has operated as a limeworks. A former stable block was converted into a learning centre to be used to develop community interest and educational use and a circular trail around the site was created.

At The Hollies, on The Stiperstones, Shropshire Wildlife Trust received a £149,000 grant to acquire 36 hectares of land, described as “one of the finest remaining examples of treed moorland surviving in the country”, and create a nature reserve.

Volunteers were recruited to manage and maintain the site and public access was improved with clear signage installed. Tasks undertaken included controlling bracken that was invading the site, planting and protecting new holly trees, and establishing a stock grazing scheme as a natural way of aiding conservation.

An assault glider project at RAF Shawbury was given a £50,000 grant for a scheme telling young people about the role played by unique aircraft.

Glider troops played a significant role during World War Two, being used as part of the airborne component of D-Day, during the invasion of Sicily and at Arnhem. An education officer was employed to arrange educational visits, outreach sessions, lectures, open days, the collection of oral histories, and the production of education packs, leaflets and booklets.

In Shrewsbury, Quarry Park and Victoria Avenue received a £1.5 million grant towards comprehensive improvements. Entrances to the park were repaired and improved, electrical and water supplies updated, sculptures, original stone and metalwork were restored, new signage and information panels were installed and horticultural work undertaken to shrubs, trees and borders throughout the 12 hectares.

Dozens more projects in Shropshire and Mid Wales have received money. So, next time you shuffle off to the newsagent to lose £1 on a Lottery ticket, don’t worry . . . you’re actually investing in the heritage on your very doorstep.

By Andy Richardson