Public voting for the latest round of the Community Choices Place-based Capital Programme closes at 5pm this Monday 14^th February.

People living throughout the Falkirk Council area can vote for groups and organisations’ project and help them secure funding for projects that will improve the lives of those living in their neighbourhoods and communities.

To be able to vote, people must be of high school age (ie. 12 years old) and living in the Falkirk Council area. Each person has 3 votes for projects in their council ward.

There are 27 groups and organisations with projects in the current round, each with proposals of £5,000 or more to help them build something new, improve an asset, or purchase equipment.

Successful Community Choices P-bCP bids will be published on the Council’s website at the start of March.

Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council, said:

“The groups and organisations who have submitted Capital bids have put a lot of time and effort into their applications, putting forward projects that will help make the area fairer, healthier, more connected and more inclusive, which is the aim of Community Choices.

“Now, it’s up to local people to vote for the projects they want to see happen. Voting is quick and easy to do, but it is important that people check which ward they live in before voting. That way they will ensure the votes they cast count.”

How to Vote

For votes to count, people must visit the voting page for the correct council ward they live in, and select from the projects listed. People can find their council ward by entering their postcode on the Falkirk Council website.

Each voting page lists the projects submitted by groups and organisations which are based in that particular ward, along with an additional 2 projects that could bring Falkirk-wide benefit.

People can use all 3 votes, vote twice or only once.

To submit your vote, please visit the main Community Choices voting page.

Background

Community Choices is Falkirk Council and Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership’s (HSCP) participatory budgeting programme.

The initiative aims to provide local people with a way to apply for public funding to improve their local area, and vote to decide how public money is spent so that investment is made in projects that reflect the strengths, needs and aspirations of their local community.

In November 2021, the second round of Community Choices was launched, with the deadline for P-bCP proposals Friday 7^th January.

All received proposals were reviewed by an Advisory Panel to ensure each not only met the rules set for capital spending, but also Community Choices’ dedication to making the local area “fairer, healthier, more connected and more inclusive”.

Further Information

For further information, please contact Falkirk Council’s Community Choices team by email: community.choices@falkirk.gov.uk

Alternatively, for further information on participatory budgeting, visit the following sites:

Falkirk Council’s Community Choices main page (including application guidance and FAQs)
Phase One’s Small Grants results
Phase One’s Capital Grants results
Phase Two’s Small Grants results
PB Scotland, a national hub from the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC), which shares information and learning about the work being done by PB initiatives around Scotland