The number of residents participating in ward committees and voting for improvement schemes has increased significantly from last year. The quarterly ward committees, covering 29 wards across the city, have seen an increase of over 70 percent in the number of residents voting for improvement schemes in their neighbourhoods. The results are highlighted in a report to the meeting of the Executive Member for Community Safety and Local Affairs with advisory panel, to be considered next week, on July 10.

Each year City of York Council delegates budgets to ward committees based on the number of residents in each wards. Residents are encouraged to participate in the ward committee meetings and particularly in allocating the budget for their area. They can put forward ideas for schemes that will improve the quality of life in their neighbourhood, which cover issues like transport and road safety, community buildings and recycling and sustainability.

Councillor Bob Scrase, executive member for local affairs, said: "Ward committees are playing an increasingly important role in ensuring that residents can direct resources to the improvement schemes in their areas that they feel are the most important. By devolving over £900,000 of the council's budget to ward committees, we ensure that the money is spent on the prioritised areas of concern for residents in their neighbourhoods.

He continued: "It is also encouraging to see that residents have themselves identified the importance of building safer communities with their emphasis on 'community safety' measures. In fact over 25 percent of the budget has been spent on these schemes. These will play an important part in delivering the city's crime reduction strategy, which has recently been developed by the council and Safer York Partnership. These measures will reduce crime and the fear of crime across York.

"Residents will now begin to see these improvement schemes delivered in their areas and I hope that this will encourage even more people to get involved in their ward committee and voting for improvement schemes."

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