The amount of money available for Community Councils to spend has been increased.

Each Community Council will now have the following to spend:

  • £10,000 per ward plus
  • £5,000 for the whole Community Council area

What is the funding aiming to achieve?

  • Local people are able to identify and prioritise the issues that are most important to them locally
  • Local solutions are developed in response to local problems
  • The quality of life for residents in local areas is improved
  • The promotion of cohesive neighbourhoods and celebration of diversity
  • Volunteering and community involvement are encouraged

How does it work?

The money will be available for delivering ideas suggested by residents at the meeting, and for local groups or organisations to deliver projects:

If you are a resident...

If you are a resident who has identified a need in your local area and want the Council to provide a solution, you should:

  • Attend the first meeting of your Community Council.
  • You will be given the opportunity to discuss your proposal with other residents and ward councillors.
  • You will be asked to work with your ward councillors to complete a form available only  at your Community Council meeting.
  • The Community Councils Team will be asked to research and cost a solution.

If you are a local group or organisation...

If you are a local group or organisation that would like to propose a project to benefit a local area you should:

  • Attend the first meeting of your Community Council
  • You will be given the opportunity to discuss your proposal with other residents and ward councillors
  • You will be given the Community Council's guidance and criteria (58KB word file)and the application form (157KB word file) that you can take away and complete.
  • If you are unable to attend the meeting, please download the application form or contact the Community Councils Team.
  • The form must be fully completed. Failure to do this may disqualify your group or organisation from the funding process

PLEASE NOTE: the deadline for group/organisations has been extended to 29 August 2008.
All applications are still welcome, particularly those framed around the suggestions (53KB word file)) that were received from residents at the first cycle of Community Council meetings.

It is recommended that you submit your application ahead of this date so that the Community Councils Team can advise you if any further information is required.

Please refer to the guidance and criteria to ensure a successful application.

All accepted applications will be presented to the next Community Council meeting when residents of the area will be asked to vote for their preferred choices.

Selection

At the second meeting of your Community Council (in the autumn) local residents will be invited to vote for their preferred choices from the list of accepted applications.

Your local councillors will make the final decision taking into account the recommendations of the community and subject to compliance with the council procedures and appropriate financial and legal advice.

Monitoring and evaluation

All applications from local groups and organisations will be subject to a monitoring (54KB word file) and evaluation (49KB word file) process.

Monitoring

Projects will be monitored every three months or as required to ensure that the project is being delivered as planned and that outputs are being achieved. The monitoring form shows the information that will be required.

Evaluation

An annual evaluation will be also have to be completed at the end of projects to ensure that the funds have benefited the local community. The evaluation form shows the information that will be required.

Contact us

Please see the Community Councils contacts page.