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Voters packed in to pick sports winners
1/11/2011 Trampolines at Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted. Connie Burger, 14.
TENS of thousands of pounds were dished out to community groups in the most popular event of its kind – and the first organised by a youth council.
About 230 people gathered at Berkhamsted Civic Centre on Sunday to choose which organisations were given a share of £50,956 set aside for sport projects.
At the event each group had two minutes to say why it deserved the cash before the public asked questions.
Then people voted for their three favourite ideas, which were dished out points in order of people’s preference.
Berkhamsted Youth Town Council then set up the voting event, called a participatory budget scheme.
It had the biggest turn-out of any event of its kind held so far, the youngsters said.
Voting officer Kevin Ambrose said: “I think it is the first time in the country that it has not been run by councillors or residents but by the youth.”
More news and pictures in the Gazette every week.
The winners:
Berkhamsted Raiders
Points Club Applied for:
185 Berkhamsted Raiders £5,092.85 for new goalposts, nets flags and equipment.
138 The Lighthouse youth group at St Mary’s Church, Northchurch £379.97 for a new table tennis, pool table and air hockey.
106 Maclay Football Club £5,142.91 for portable goals, team kit, shelters and football bibs.
84 Berkhamsted Town Council, Berkhamsted £15,000 to resurface the astroturf pitch at Lagley Meadow Youth Centre in the town’s Douglas Gardens.
82 Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted £4,200 for a new trampoline for the visually impaired.
75 Westfield First School £9,880 to install an all-weather surface in its playground.
63 Berkhamsted Cricket Club £3,000 for a new sight screen.
62 Northchurch Baptist Church £1,174.50 for football goals, a table tennis table, pool table and netball nets.
53 Berkhamsted Gymnastics Club £3,180 for a equipment including a launch pad.
50 1st Northchurch Scouts £3,276 for kayaks and associated equipment.
37 Berkhamsted Bowls Club Were given £2,509.77 of the £2,250 they applied for to buy junior bowls.
The losers who did not get any money:
32 Happy Days Pre-school £1,431.30 for play equipment at a nursery that will open in January.
27 Sacred Heart Church, Berkhamsted £1,202.84 for football equipment, table tennis table and pool table.
26 Kitcheners Bowls Club £908 for small-sized bowls for women and children.
24 Northchurch Parish Council £4,500 to resurface village skate ramp.
21 St Michaels and All Saints Church, Sunnyside, Berkhamsted £694.84 for footballs, goals, pump, whistles, bibs, pool table and kit for its youth group.
15 Northchurch Cricket Club £2,000 for a new scoreboard and connection fee.
13 Kings Road Church, Berkhamsted £2,250 for crash mats, sumo suits, pool table, football goals, table tennis equipment, dart board and trampoline for youth group.
6 Potten End Cricket Club £3,399 for a bowling machine and practice equipment.
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Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Jerviston
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 04:53 PMVery well organised event and thank you to Berkhamsted Youth Council for organising it and running it. A lot of really good confident youngsters who should go far. Like others I would have liked to have seen the money being shared with all who gave presentations although I have difficulty in understanding why schools, the Town Council and organisations who receive large sponsorships from elsewhere (such as Raiders) are still able to bid for funds such as these. Perhaps the application forms should include a question about exisitng sponsorships with amounts being shown. Well done Berkhamsted Youth Council
PrivateDancer
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 04:54 PMKitcheners bowls club can join up with Berko bowls club and use their small bowls, maybe have a small bowls rota scheme, we don't want them to 'jack' it in....
greenspan
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 04:38 PMwhy £15k to "Berkhamsted Town Council" ? The TC is hardly penniless, so why doesn't it put its hands in its own pockets and spend some of OUR money ? That money could have paid for all of the projects who received nothing at all (give or take £1,300)
old bowler
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:55 AMIt was a good day and everyone had a chance but as usual the small organisations loose out. It would have been better if a limit was placed on the amount each organisation could bid for then more people would have got some money.
PrivateDancer
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:34 AMHa Ha Ha Ha, wot a load of old tosh....Not what you need but who you know, the losers who did not get any money, love that bit of the story lol
JulianDaw
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:07 AMAt least the decision process is more transparent, rather than taking place behind closed doors which is what would otherwise have happened. I'm not suggesting that its a way forward for funding of services, but it certainly opens up the decision making process. And every organisation, whether they got money or not, raised their profile on the day, and through articles like these. Fund raising is always going to be easier for the more dynamic organisations, but that will never change no matter how the money is allocated.
fredkarno
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 10:56 AMThat's the problem with democracy - it can be manipulated! Someone once said to me that the best committees have just one member and they are right. Nowadays, they have more members but might just as well have just one. Look at how our MPs' voted as they were told to (or their future might not be so rosy!) over the EU referendum. And that was just to have a debate on whether or not to hold a referendum on a subject that the great majority of the population have strong views. God help us if we voted the 'wrong' way. It would be like the Irish, keep holding votes until the population see the light!
Bemused Again
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 10:44 AMDon't people realise that this process does not identify deserving causes? All it serves to do is favour those organisations with larger memberships or who can motivate people to turn up and vote for them. Didn't Raiders recently receive a £50,000 donation from a benefactor? Just how much money do they need? Are they really more deserving than a nursery ? A flawed process from the very beginning. Nothing against Raiders but they seem to dominate the available money that is around.
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