The latest stage of a process to encourage members of Oxenhope’s community to get involved with making spending decisions will take place next week.

For the first time in its history, Oxenhope Parish Council has been operating a participatory budgeting initiative, to allow parishioners to have more influence over issues that affect them.

A council spokesman said: “The first stage of this process was to invite properly-constituted groups in Oxenhope with a bank account to apply for a maximum funding amount of £250.

“An encouraging number of applications was received, and it was agreed to arrange the next stage of the process for Wednesday.

“This will involve a public meeting, where funding applicants will each give five-minute presentations promoting their applications.

“Within these five minutes, they will also have a chance to provide a brief outline of their organisations’ work, their aims and the benefits they bring to the village.”

The council would like parishioners to attend the 7.30pm meeting at Oxenhope Methodist Church so they can have their say on which funding applications are successful.

Contact the parish council clerk, Elaine Pearson, on 07972 717058 for further information.