APPENDIX A

Greater Local Area Forum

Choose 4 Greater Aylesbury Update

The Greater Aylesbury Local Area Forum’s (GALAF) participatory budgeting project Choose 4 Greater Aylesbury has now been running for around one month.

Choose 4 Greater Aylesbury aims to encourage residents from across the Greater Aylesbury area to engage and participate in voting for the projects they would like to see receive a share of £15,000 LAF funding. Some of the projects participating in Eight projects/schemes have come forward— Choose 4 Greater all meeting LAF priorities. Participating Aylesbury: Space (right) and the Blue projects/schemes that encompassed the wider Light project (above) Greater Aylesbury area were encouraged

to come forward. While many of the eight are Aylesbury-based, all do fulfil the remit of • NHS Mental Health team: being open to or directly benefiting residents Movers and Shakers in the wider Greater Aylesbury area. • Space—care and support • Young Carers Bucks: Identifying young The eight projects are: carers • Youth for Christ (AVYFC): • Youth Concern Aylesbury: Nightstop Activities for young people emergency accommodation project. • Aylesbury Youth Action: Connected volunteering project Voting • Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service: Voting is open to all residents in the Blue Light Project Greater Aylesbury area, either online at: • Bucks Play Association: Boomerang Toy www.choose4greateraylesbury.com or via Library

Update: 25 June 2012

paper voting in ballot boxes throughout the area.

So far ballot boxes—provided by AVDC—have been placed in the following locations:

• AVDC Gateway reception • Aylesbury Library • BCC County Hall reception • Buckingham Park Community Centre • Community Centre

• Healthy Living Centre, The Market Square event took place in Aylesbury. Participating projects talked to residents about the work they did and why they needed funding, and • Healthy Living Centre, around 400 residents took the opportunity to vote • Queens Park Arts Centre, Aylesbury came along to support the event, including • Tesco Broadfields, Aylesbury Chairman Mary Baldwin and Vice Chairman • Watermead Community Centre Stephen Lambert. Chairman of the County Council, Marion Clayton, also attended. Aylesbury Town Council is also taking a ballot box to events throughout the area, as is the We know from the numbers of voting forms Fire Service, and AVYFC is taking a ballot box distributed (almost 500) that around 400 out to young people’s activities organised residents took the opportunity to vote at the through the GALAF (see page 3). event, have refreshments—sponsored by Aylesbury Town Council—and talk to the We are also looking to place ballot boxes in projects. other locations including GP surgeries and in the parishes of Bierton and Stoke Mandeville Mix 96 and the Bucks Herald supported the within the next week. event. The Bucks Herald is also going to have an article on each project throughout the One excellent piece of news was that the next eight weeks and then publicise the voting Tesco Broadfields voting box had to be opportunities. This is fantastic, as it not only replaced after just three weeks, as it was full! provides information on Choose 4 Greater Aylesbury but will also publicise the excellent Other activities and voting work undertaken by the eight local projects. opportunities Mandeville School Aylesbury Market Square event A number of Year 10 pupils from the An event involving all eight participating Mandeville School have been taking part in projects took place in Aylesbury Market this project—learning about participatory Square on 14 June. Many GALAF members budgeting, about the work undertaken by the

2 eight projects and devising a way of enabling the whole school to vote in a series of assemblies.

Following this, whole-school voting will take place during a series of house assemblies throughout the week commencing 2 July. On the Thursday of that week, the young people will be filmed voting as part of a film on the whole Choose 4 Greater Aylesbury project. Voting can be online or by paper As with Mandeville School, Locality Services voting in ballot boxes made contact with Stoke Mandeville and Bierton primary schools to ask if they would Greater Aylesbury being available at the like to participate and encourage Year 6 pupils Party in the Park event, as this may be an and also parents to vote. The schools were excellence way of promoting the final push unable to participate. We would be happy to on the project in September. include other schools in small-scale events— If GALAF members wish to support other although this may not be feasible noting the events or activities in your area, please let us summer holidays are not far away. know ([email protected]). We Young People’s activities can provide a ballot box which can be taken to a local store/event or support you in A number of activity events are taking place encouraging your local residents to vote. around Greater Aylesbury throughout the summer to encourage young people to vote. Other ideas could include: A small stand These activities are being run on behalf of the outside a local store where residents can vote GALAF by AVYFC and will enable the young and in return receive a small cake/other people to have fun with the sports cage and refreshment. sumo suits—and other activities available in a Attendance at an older people’s events or pop-up youth café—while learning about activities, to encourage voting from all ages the eight projects and voting. ranges and communities within Greater An activity took place at Elmhurst Youth Aylesbury. This is something we intend to do, Project in June—and other activities are but if you have ideas on specific events or planned for Prebendal Farm, Buckingham Park activities that would be suitable, please advise. and potentially Bierton or Stoke Mandeville and a further location. The project runs until 21 September. The projects that are successful in receiving a Other activities share of £15,000 will be announced after the As mentioned earlier, Aylesbury Town 8 October GALAF meeting. However, for Council is taking the ballot boxes to other three projects that do not receive any funding locations and events. from this project there will be consolation in the benefit they receive from the huge amount The BCC Locality Services team is also of publicity and information provided on the reviewing the possibility of voting for Choose 4 work they undertake for residents in the area.

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