Residents given £250,000 spending power

Council’s community budgeting programme You Decide starts from 30 January. Photo: suburbanslice

'You Decide' in Tower Hamlets Photo: suburbanslice

Local residents in Tower Hamlets have been given the chance to spend council cash on improving services and projects in their area.

The council’s community budgeting programme, You Decide, will give the participants a budget of over £250,000 towards various improvements.

Last September You Decide gave more than 800 Tower Hamlets residents the opportunity to choose how to spend £2.4 million on local services to tackle crime and improve education to make the borough cleaner, healthier and safer.

This year the residents will get yet another chance to have their say in the eight You Decide events that are set to take place across the borough from January to March.

Cllr Rania Khan, lead member for community partnerships said: “This year we want to encourage more people to take part in You Decide. It gives local people a chance to directly influence how money is spent to meet the community’s needs.”

Residents will also have the option to buy services such as extra police officers, better street lighting and park improvements, as well as increase support for older people, reduce levels of youth unemployment, and improve GCSE results.

Dani Platsch from Bethnal Green, who attended last year’s events said: “You Decide helped me to understand my neighbourhood better. It felt good to see that others care about the same things, and it gave me the opportunity to discuss my priorities with other people and listen to their stories.”

The first You Decide event will take place on Saturday 30 January at Kingsley Hall in Powis Road, Bromley- by-Bow from 11am- 2pm.

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