26 August 2019
Peterhead community asked to vote on local improvement projects
The Peterhead community is being asked to choose how £20,000 should be spent on local improvements. Peterhead Decides is an initiative giving the public the opportunity to directly decide how public money is used to improve the Peterhead area.
A shortlist of projects has been identified following the submission of suggested projects by a range of individuals and community groups.
The project is a being overseen by a partnership between the Council and Peterhead Community Council, as part of a pilot Community Choices process, whereby local people come together to decide how public money should be spent in their communities. It follows three main steps:
• Ideas are generated about how money should be spent
• Submissions are developed into projects
• Local people decide on their favored projects and the ideas with the most support are implemented
With the first two stages already complete, the Peterhead public is now being asked to vote on the shortlisted ideas to decide how Aberdeenshire Council should work with the local community to improve the local area. The most popular projects following the public vote will be implemented.
Voting opens tomorrow (Tuesday, August 27) and will close at midnight on Sunday, September 15. Anyone who lives, works or volunteers in Peterhead is eligible to vote and results will be published by Tuesday, September 17.
Residents can vote online or can complete a ballot paper available at Peterhead Library, Buchan House or Peterhead Community centre. During the voting period, project volunteers will also be out and about at various locations providing additional opportunities for local folk to participate.
Lisa Buchan, Chair of Peterhead Community Council said: “Peterhead Community Council have worked closely with Aberdeenshire Council during this pilot process.
“I am very pleased by the variety of the ideas that have come forward and I would encourage anyone interested to give their support to their favored ideas to make their vote count.
“I am especially pleased that a number of local groups have suggested ideas which will involve partnerships with local groups and the council to improve the local area. Community choices is about allowing people and communities to decide what matters most to them and how public money be used best.”
Buchan Area Committee chair Cllr Norman Smith said: “This is an exciting opportunity for the people who live here to decide directly how funds are spent locally and I’m looking forward to seeing the community engage with the voting process.
“As a pilot process and one of the first tests of mainstream community choices in Aberdeenshire, learning from the Peterhead process will help develop future approaches for the region.
“We hope the process will encourage more people to become involved in the local community and we can work with them in the future to make positive change happen.”
Votes can be cast by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Peterhead1 Forms can also be collected from Peterhead Community Centre, Peterhead Library and Buchan House, or are available by contacting communitychoices@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or calling 01467 538029.