21 January 2010 - Residents get to have their say
LIVERPOOL Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS) working in partnership with Liverpool City Council, ward councillors, and other partners, are hosting a new round of ‘Your Community Matters’ events, starting on 1 February in Kensington.
This round focuses on ‘Community Funding Events’ which give residents the chance to vote on small pots of funding for local projects which will improve their ward. There will also be the chance to meet key decision makers and voice concerns residents have about their local area.
These public meetings will be held across Liverpool’s 30 wards and are an opportunity for local people to discuss the issues that are affecting their neighbourhood with ward councillors, Merseyside Police, council officers and other partners.
At previous events residents have voted on pots of funding for successful community projects. In St Michaels for example, residents voted to give £3000 to fund a ‘Growing Old Together’ project, which will run free courses for young and old people, aimed at improving participant’s physical health and mental wellbeing.
The meetings have also led to problems such as fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour and a lack of facilities being identified and improved.
Karen Harris, Neighbourhood Partnership Officer at LCVS said: “These events offer residents a great opportunity to improve their ward, get their opinions heard and vote on funding for local projects and schemes.”
Councillor Marilyn Fielding, Liverpool’s executive member for ‘Safer, Stronger Communities’, said: “This is a great initiative as it puts local people firmly in the driving seat when it comes to deciding on how to improve their community. It is very democratic and means that community groups are able to explain the services they can offer directly to the public. The city council, working with our partners is determined to try out these innovative ideas and we think it is right to trust local people with important decisions about what should get funded in their community.”
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For more information contact Stuart Smith on 0151 227 5177 or stuart.smith@lcvs.org.uk or visit the website at www.lcvs.org.uk.
