The results are in! 101 community groups will benefit from locality funding
Posted on 24 Nov 2023
You shared your ideas and we listened. As a result, 101 community groups and local organisations have been successful in their bid for a share of North Ayrshire Council’s most-recent Participatory Budgeting (PB) Fund.
North Ayrshire Council along with the Health and Social Care Partnership have provided £198,377 funding as part of their ongoing community empowerment ambition to give local people a direct say in how money is spent.
The successful applications from local community groups and organisations came from two strands of funding:
- Localities (up to £1000 per project)
- and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (up to £5,000 per project) a shared fund where groups can team up together on projects/events with a shared purpose for the common good
The votes were received for successful community groups across the Garnock Valley, Irvine, Kilwinning, Three Towns, Arran and North Coast and Cumbraes localities who are now being contacted by the Council’s PB team to share the fantastic news.
With an aim to help community projects and organisations to make a positive difference in their communities, NAC’s Participatory Budgeting process has proven hugely successful since first being rolled out in 2016.
Enabling local people via participatory budgeting is one of the key ways that the Council is addressing inequalities.
Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Communities and Islands commented: “We are absolutely delighted that so many community groups have benefitted in the Council’s second round of PB funding for 2023.
“Local people know the needs of their communities better than anyone else – this is why they are at the heart of our PB approach as we develop further community funding opportunities across our six Locality Partnerships, giving citizens a direct say in our decision-making processes and allocation of vital funding.
“Thank you to all who had their say and decided on where the money would be best spent.
“The allocated funding will be shared between projects throughout all of the six North Ayrshire localities and these broadly cover the themes of: improving local life and wellbeing, helping residents during the Cost-of-Living crisis, connecting people in local communities, promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, tackling climate change and promoting healthy and active communities. So these projects are set to make a real difference for everyone involved.
“I very much look forward to seeing how we can work together to develop more opportunities to ‘Shape North Ayrshire’ and build stronger, resilient, and more connected communities.”