People in Leith will soon be asked by Leith Neighbourhood Partnership to decide how a pot of more than £20,000 in funding should be spent on projects that benefit their local community.
Now in its fourth year, £eith Decides, allows community groups to apply for grants of up to £1,000 each. Once the applications are in, local people are invited to vote on which projects they would most like to see receive the money. A special public event will take place in February, at which members of the public will get the chance to learn about applicants and their projects.
Previous successful applicants include Prospect Bank School Parents’ Association for an outdoor climbing frame, the Goosander Resident’s Association for a living garden, the Citadel Youth Centre for a young mums’ parenting course, and the North Edinburgh Dementia Care group, which ran podiatry sessions for older clients.
This year’s application period is now open and runs until November 8, when a Steering Group made up of local people will consider all applications to make sure that they meet the criteria – Advice is available on how to meet the criteria.
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “£eith Decides has proven to be extremely popular, and many new applicants came forward last year. It was fantastic that so many worthwhile projects, all of which have made a difference to people, were given help in this way.
“The public event held as part of the process gave community groups the opportunity to raise awareness about their work too. Neighbourhood Partnership events like this are valued by people who welcome the opportunity to make decisions about the area in which they live.”
For up-to-date information about £eith Decides please visit its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/voteforleithdecides
and the £eith decides page at www.edinburghnp.org.uk/leith.
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