Communities should get pots of cash

Sheffield neighbourhoods should be given pots of £10,000 to spend on community projects, say politicians.
Sheffield Lib Dems are calling for communities to get more cashSheffield Lib Dems are calling for communities to get more cash
Sheffield Lib Dems are calling for communities to get more cash

Each ward in the city receives a pot of money from the council to spend in the area but the amount of money varies. The Lib Dems say Burngreave receives £25,000 but Crookes and Ecclesall only get £3,000.

Now the Lib Dems want each ward to get at least £10,000 and the Green Party has called for planned cuts to “ward pots” to be scrapped.

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Community groups can bid for the money and in the past it has been spent on children’s playgrounds and cricket coaching.

Lib Dem Councillor Adam Hanrahan, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “There are 28 wards in this city but 20 of them - 71 per cent - have less than £10,000 in their ward pots to spend on things which can help their local communities.

“I know that my own ward pot money gets spent on some really important things for the communities in Crookes and Crosspool and I’m always pleased when someone talks to me about something the local councillors have been able to fund.

“The Liberal Democrats would top up every ward pot to a minimum of £10,000 ensuring that every ward in the city has a good amount of money to spend on the communities in their area.

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“Communities should be at the heart of everything this council does. We want to devolve money as well as decision making as close to those communities as we can.”

The Greens want the council to not only reverse the planned cuts to ward pots but also want to see them increase. They say cuts to the ward pots will affect women, disabled people and black and minority ethnic groups in particular.