CUMBERLAND Council is backing half a million pounds of investment in its communities.
At an Executive meeting this week, senior councillors agreed the money would be passed to eight Community Panels, who will plough it into grass roots projects specifically tailored to local issues.
The funding reflects the new council’s ambition to invest directly in community-led projects, decided at a local level.
Cumberland Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Lisa Brown, said: “This new way of supporting projects means the community tells us what they need – we listen, and direct financial support to the places and projects where it can really make a difference.
The £541,661 of investment will be spent over the coming year. Each area is given an amount of money that takes into account population, and the ‘standard mortality ratio’ used to distribute public health funds nationally. This measure equates closely to deprivation and so the formula gives more weight to areas with more poverty.
Each Community Panel will be supported by a Community Network Panel – residents, businesses, third sector bodies and others, who will feed into the process and help shape an action plan, or ‘neighbourhood investment plan’ for each area.
Cllr Brown added: “This is just the start. We aim to bring in investment from other sources, working with partners and devolving budgets as the neighbourhood investment plans are developed. It's the beginning of a new way of supporting communities by using all the levers of a unitary council for the benefit of the people we serve.”
Find out more about Cumberland’s Community Panels, and when they meet, here: https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/your-council/community-panels.
The Cumberland Community Panels logo: https://dmscdn.vuelio.co.uk/publicitem/aa84c9e6-6401-4c7f-b9a1-2b7796a162cf