Fleur and I are often out and about listening to people’s concerns and something we regularly ask ourselves is, what do local residents really want and need in order to feel they are heard?

One debate that has arisen recently in the town hall is the idea that perhaps allocating a pot of funding to each ward specifically, with local people having more of a say, would actually encourage people to feel empowered and more engaged?

A small pot of money could be beneficial at a ward level for councillors to identify initiatives or groups that would struggle to make applications and would benefit from even a modest amount of money. Examples could include carers groups, looking for a little bit of money to rent a venue for meetings, or some new equipment for a children’s centre.

This has been done with varying degrees of success in other Boroughs. Is this something you would want? If you have an opinion, do let us know by replying to this blog post or sending us a tweet.