Partner Article

Minister praises community initiative

A North East housing group has been praised by a government minister for a scheme which gave residents a say in where money is spent in their communities.

Twenty projects have been allocated up to £5,000 each thanks to Coast & Country’s participatory budgeting scheme called ‘Your Way - You Say’ which had a kitty totalling £60,000. The projects ranged from a young people’s allotment to a solar lighting scheme.

Speaking at the national Participatory Budgeting Conference in Manchester, Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, ranked Coast & Country among the organisations which had been “prepared to blaze a trail, push boundaries and make a difference” by pioneering participatory budgeting. She also urged more housing associations to follow Coast & Country’s lead.

Iain Sim, Coast & Country Chief Executive, said: “This endorsement from the Minister is a fantastic accolade for Coast & Country’s ‘Your Way - You Say’ and a deserved pat on the back for the staff, residents and other agencies which have contributed to Coast & Country driving this scheme forward.

“Coast & Country was the first housing association in the country to spearhead such an initiative and I would urge others to embrace participatory budgeting as we have found when people have a real say and control over what goes on in their community they take more care of and have more pride in their neighbourhoods.

“Coast & Country’s Your Way - You Say initiative helps achieve that goal and the inaugural event was such a success we intend to make it an annual affair.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .