On the 9th April 2016 Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council, covering three villages near Keighley, North Yorkshire, will be launching a new Participatory Budgeting initiative.
Around £20,000 of parish council funds will be available, split proportionally across the three villages. Ideas for how to spend the parish council’s money will be gathered following the launch event and later residents will be able to vote on which to choose.
As reported on the Keighley News website, Councillor Gary Swallow explained: "The parish council previously has run a pilot participatory budget system, but only in respect of the village of Stanbury, where £2,000 has been allocated for projects. During the recent 2016/17 budget debates, the council decided that participatory budgeting should be extended to all three villages, and that this would be implemented and overseen by the parish council’s environment committee. The aim is to provide a greater degree of democracy and public involvement."
Local community groups have until the 30th April 2016 to make proposals.
- See the report on the Parsh Council website
- Read an article concerning the scheme on the Keighley News Website