17 Apr 2020
Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn, has called on community groups from Newtown area to take advantage of new funding made available for initiatives that aim to improve community safety in the area.
Through the local Neighbourhood Policing Team at Newtown, funds of up to £4000 is available for community groups through a process called Participatory Budgeting.
Participatory Budgeting is a democratic way of empowering communities by allowing them to bid for money to fund projects that meet the theme of the planning group: in this case improving community safety.
Any community group can bid for a share of the grant in order to improve community safety and promote a healthier safer community in Newtown.
As well as funding of £10,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner for the process in Newtown, funding is also supplied by Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council, Mid Wales Housing, Wales and West Housing, Newydd Housing. The Newtown Neighbourhood Policing Team has worked with all partners to establish the FLOW Newtown group - Funding Local Opportunities Working together - to work with community groups on the application process.
Over a period of time, each of the 14 Neighbourhood Policing Teams across the Dyfed-Powys force area will receive £10,000 each to be spent within the communities they serve, with the communities themselves being the key decision makers in this Participatory Budgeting process.
Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said: “I have committed to fund this new and innovative approach to community funding as I think it’s vital that local residents have a say in how money is spent in their local area.
“They are best placed to work with the police, and indeed other partner agencies, to identify where the money is needed and what would most benefit the local communities.
Communities should be influencing the decisions.
“I urge all the various community groups in Newtown to consider the funding that I have made available, and to contact the Newtown Neighbourhood Policing Team to discuss ideas, so that the whole community can work together to improve community safety”.
Superintendent Ifan Charles, Divisional Commander for Powys and lead on participatory budgeting in force, said: “Participatory budgeting is a way of giving communities a greater say in how their community evolves.
“Problem solving to find long term solutions to solve the issues that cause communities the greatest harm, is at the core of our new neighbourhood policing model.
“Through informed community engagement and problem solving, the new neighbourhood structure should reduce the long-term harm for our communities and with that, demand on our response officers, but this will only work if our communities and partners are equally engaged.
“Participatory budgeting has worked really well elsewhere and I’m really excited to lead the introduction of this innovative approach here.”
The funding became available on 1 April 2020 and closing date for applications is 30 April 2020. Anyone who would like to be involved in this process in Newtown should contact Sergeant Matthew Price at Newtown Police station, or email him at matthew.price418@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk
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