A GROUP of North Yorkshire residents have been saluted for promoting the heritage of their village.

Residents in Cawood, between York and Selby, formed a community group, backed by £22,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to help reveal the rich heritage of the village castle.

A major report, Heritage Counts 2006, hails the work of the Cawood Castle Garth Group, which has rekindled interest in one of the area's leading historic buildings.

The report was prepared by English Heritage and published by the Yorkshire And Humber Historic Environment Forum (HEF).

Perched on the banks of the River Ouse, the settlement was once the site of an immense medieval castle, former home to the Archbishops of York.

Now the past has been brought back to life with archaeology days, geophysics surveys and schools days, often involving the entire village.

Local people have also produced their own management plan and are seeking to improve site access and interpretation.

Margaret Brearley, secretary of the group, said: "The scheme has helped residents appreciate what they've got in Cawood, especially youngsters, and kindled a real sense of pride.

"It has also provided a springboard for wider projects linked to the village's ecology.

"Getting funding has enabled us to buy in expertise and then share our knowledge with other groups."

The report - now in its fifth year - reveals grassroots support for historic buildings is as strong as ever.

It traces the progress made over the past 12 months in protecting and promoting the region's historic fabric, while highlighting the trends and challenges facing Yorkshire and the Humber.

Among the findings, Heritage Counts reveals 65 per cent of people questioned in the region have visited a designated historic venue in 2005/06.

More people than ever before also participated in September's Heritage Open Days, which saw 114 properties taking part across North Yorkshire.

The History Matters - Pass It On campaign was launched earlier this year by organisations including the National Trust, English Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund, Heritage Link, Civic Trust and the Historic Houses Association.

As part of the campaign, an impressive 46,000 people "made history" on October 17 by contributing to a blog diary telling others what they did on that day.

This unique picture of the nation will be recorded for posterity at the British Library.

Heritage Counts 2006 also salutes people for going a step further and making an impact on their neighbourhoods.

Maddy Jago, regional planning and development director for English Heritage and chairwoman of the HEF, said: "The report suggests that heritage projects are well backed by local communities.

"But they need support, either through funding, encouragement or the provision of expertise and training."

There are 13,855 listed buildings in the region, with 1,580 of those in York, Selby has 627 and Ryedale 2,035.