Communities ready to vote on their own ideas as #YouDecide campaign continues in Renfrewshire

Communities in Renfrewshire are voting for the local infrastructure projects they’d like to see funded in their area – after they submitted them to Renfrewshire Council’s community empowerment campaign #YouDecide.

The council made £1.2million available for local people to decide how it is spent and the launch attracted more than 2,800 ideas for potential upgrades.

A shortlist has now been created for local people to vote on and includes projects like dog exercise areas, street lighting upgrades, road safety improvements, and outdoor gym equipment – all part of the Council’s drive to use local knowledge to improve its communities.

Voting is now open, with residents able to vote for the projects in their local area that they believe will make the biggest difference.

Councillor Michelle Campbell, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “We saw an incredible response to the launch of the campaign with over 2,800 ideas submitted and this reinforced our belief that residents want to be involved in decision making at a local level.

“We’ve empowered them to use their local knowledge to let us know what would make a difference to where they live, and they now have the chance to vote on which projects they would like to see completed.

“There’s so many great ideas on the shortlist so I’d encourage everyone to take the chance to vote for what happens in their area and pass on the information to their friends, families and neighbours too.”

To vote, residents should log on to www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/YouDecide and enter their postcode. They’ll then be able to see the projects in their area and vote on them in order of preference.

A total of £75,000 is available for each of the 16 areas, with a maximum of £50,000 available per idea, and the projects with most votes will be funded until all the money is allocated.

To ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to vote, local libraries will be open for voting in-person, the project team will visit local community groups and roadshows will take place at key locations in towns and villages across Renfrewshire during the voting period.

In addition, schools, community councils, local partnerships, partners and elected members will all be contacted to ensure the chance to vote is extended as widely as possible.

Voting opened on Friday 11 November and will run for four weeks, closing on Sunday 11 December.

Work to complete the successful projects will begin in early 2023.