More funds for local projects

Oldham Council cabinet reports
COMMUNITY projects to improve local districts can now apply for a share of £360,000.

Cabinet members agreed yesterday to create the District Investment Fund (DIF) as a way of getting Oldham’s six District Partnerships to bid for cash for local projects.

Communities can now consult and discuss ideas during their September/ October meetings and submit a bid so that funding decisions can be made before December.

Decisions
Councillor Jean Stretton, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “We wanted to give greater flexibility to these decisions so we also removed the red tape that ringfenced local budgets created.

“Now there is greater local discretion in spending decisions.

“And we want to go further. In the past it has been difficult for District Partnerships to find the money for ideas and schemes that could make a real impact on neighbourhoods.

“That’s why we’ve set up this bigger fund.”

A Cabinet sub-committee comprising of council leader Jim McMahon, Councillor Stretton and Councillor Abdul Jabbar, Cabinet member for finance and human resources, will consider the bids.

Shadow Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Lib-Dem councillor Rod Blyth, has been invited to sit on the sub-comittee as a co-opted member.



GOOD ideas are wanted from Oldham residents as part of a budget consultation programme.
Cabinet members agreed a plan to consult council staff, council partners, local communities, young people and children, to come up with the best way to deliver services, save money and help set the 2012-13 budget.

The work began last Thursday with the launch of a dedicated intranet page, while a council staff forum will be held this week.

Work will continue up until the final council budget meeting in February next year.

Council leader Jim McMahon said a lot of savings would be made from cutting down on bureaucracy.

He said: “This isn’t just telling people what we’re going to do, it’s going to be a genuine two-way conversation.

“The best ideas come from the people dealing with the public and who see the red tape. Service users in Oldham can suggest doing things in better ways.”

He added: “We want to identify savings but are also asking people where we should be going.”




AN extra £50,000 of funding for improving war memorials across Oldham was approved.
An annual budget of £100,000 was already in place to help improve and maintain the 16 war memorials across the borough.

The extra money will go towards further improvements including general maintenance, paving repairs, blackening memorial lettering and repairs to steps and railings.

Council leader Jim McMahon said: “This is about investing in the infrastructure of the borough but also showing that we value the commitment made in the past as well as showing young people the history of the borough.

“It is quite a small part of our budget but an important investment and will hopefully pay dividends.”