Here is what I have spent over the last 4 years out of my Members Local Improvement Scheme.
It would seem some members haven’t spent their allowance for local projects and our last Bedlington West Ward councillor left over £20K unspent in his, which then disappeared, so it wasn’t available to me to use for local projects when I started!
There are a couple of projects included which are actually just outside my ward area and I’ll explain why I agreed to them.
First one is the new accessible footpath behind the War Memorial in the Town Centre. I think that one is self-explanatory, it’s about commemoration and respect!
Second one is the bus shelter on Schalksmuhle Road. I think some of my residents would use that and appreciate it as much as anyone.
Third one is the BMX track in Gallagher Park. Again I think the cycling kids in this ward will use that outdoor facility as much as anyone so no problem supporting that.
I would just point out that in every case these were shared costs and resulted in improvements way and above what a single contribution would mean and brought benefits to the Town as a whole.