POLITICAL COMMENT: Paulsgrove to get £20million as part of new government fund – and local people can decide how to spend it!
Local MP, Amanda Martin, has secured £2million a year, for ten years, for the people living in Paulsgrove.
As part of the new Pride in Place Programme fund, Portsmouth is one of the areas selected to pioneer a new way of deciding how to spend public money on local projects.
The money can be spent on anything from local park improvements to fixing up empty buildings and high streets, but it is up to the residents to decide what to do.
The fund relies on locals in Paulsgrove coming together to submit ideas for how to spend the £20million total and a call has gone out for people to volunteer to sit on a local board that helps coordinate the project.
MP, Amanda Martin, who campaigned for the funding, said: “Local people know their area better than anyone else and that is why the government has decided to do this differently. This is our chance to improve our area by making the big decisions for ourselves- not by letting OTHER PEOPLE make decisions for us. It is a pot of money intended to make our area and even better place to live.
“Getting AN EXTRA £2million a year, for ten years, is a massive investment in Paulsgrove. We can choose to spend it on a wide range of different things and all ideas are welcome. This is our chance to show what people in Paulsgrove can do!”
Funding will be distributed to the local authority and an independent board made up of the MP, local councillors and community leaders will determine how the funding is spent.