The Council’s cabinet is to receive a report next week which effectively signals the end of public participation in “Ward Committee” meetings. It follows on from a savage budget cut to neighbourhood funding.

The budget for Ward Committee neighbourhood improvement schemes for 2011/12 was £646,000.

The Labour Council budget agreed last week reduced this to £224,000. A cut of 65%.

Now Labour are proposing to divide this money into 3 “pots” with only £75k available for schemes voted a priority by local residents.

Thus, pro rata, a Ward like Dringhouses which has had an annual budget for improvements of around £50,000 a year will find that reduced to about £6,000. This is what residents have voted on each autumn with eh available funds over subscribed usually by a factor of 4. It has been used in the past to address security concerns, provide better fencing, clean up derelict areas, improve play facilities, address parking problems etc.

There will be similar sums “ringfenced” for grants to organisations operating exclusively within a particular ward plus some for cross city voluntary groups. However the amounts likely to be available are derisory.

As with most of the Labour budget, we believe that York residents simply don’t realise yet what is going to hit them.