People in County Durham are invited to attend their local forum events taking place for all of the county’s Area Action Partnerships (AAPs) during November.
The 14 partnerships are holding the events to establish a list of priorities for the area and decide how money should be spent in the coming year.
AAPs have been created to give local people a greater say on what is important to them. It’s a chance for members of the public to help shape the community and prioritise what the partnerships focus on in their local areas.
AAPs have been operating for nearly four years and in that time have allocated over £8million to over 600 local projects that tackle issues identified by the community. This includes local environmental improvements, creating better opportunities for young people and promoting new health initiatives.
By working in partnership with other agencies, AAPs have also levered in £11million of extra resources into County Durham communities.
The forum events will give people a chance to direct where budgets are spent for the coming year.
Those attending will be asked to rank 10 priorities in order of preference to develop a list of the most important local issues. The list will then be passed to the AAP boards which will decide on the priorities for 2012/13.
Cllr Brian Stephens, cabinet member with responsibility for local partnerships, said: “With purse strings tightened and greater pressure being applied to local services, we need to make sure we’re spending money in the right places. The forum events are the residents chance to influence our priorities next year. So we are really encouraging people to come along and get involved.”
Recent external reviews of the AAPs as part of the Local Government Peer Review have highlighted their effectiveness and outlined the high level of commitment to them from local people and partner agencies, all working together for the good of the community.
Cllr Stephens added: “If you haven’t yet been involved come along and help us tackle what is most important to you and where you live.”
Anyone wishing to attend is asked to contact their AAP in advance. Contact details and arrangements for the meetings, are as follows:
Great Aycliffe and Middridge – 20 November, 6pm. Newton Aycliffe Youth Centre. Contact 01325 327 441 or brian.riley@durham.gov.uk Area Action Partnerships were set up in 2009 to help the council better engage with residents.
