THOUSANDS of pounds are being made available to community groups to improve their neighbourhoods.

The borough council is inviting groups in six Worthing wards to bid for money which can be invested in projects such as footpaths, cycleways and play facilities.

The funds will be applied from the Community Infrastructure Levy, CIL, which is a charge which local authorities can levy on new development in the area.

Under government regulations, the council collects money from developers building new projects to make investments for the wider public good.

Now officers are opening up the CIL Neighbourhood Fund for bids from local community groups. The Neighbourhood Fund is a small part of the overall CIL pot from development.

Project proposals are able to request a minimum of £1,000 and up to a maximum CIL Neighbourhood Fund allocation of £10,000.

The money is spent in the wards where most development has taken place, so Central Ward - where buildings such as Bayside are situated - has the most funds totalling more than £100,000.

Other wards that have funds available are Durrington, Marine, Offington, Salvington and Tarring.

The Argus: Worthing Borough Council regeneration chief Kevin JenkinsWorthing Borough Council regeneration chief Kevin Jenkins

Worthing Borough Council's executive member for regeneration, Cllr Kevin Jenkins, said: "We want to see Worthing progress and welcome developers who want to build good quality homes and create job opportunities in the borough.

"But it is only right that when they do, so they make a contribution to us so we can keep updating our infrastructure to keep pace with this modernisation.

"The Neighbourhood Fund is a great way that the communities themselves can have a say on what they want to see the money spent on.

"I would urge all community groups in those wards to have a close look at our website page to see if their ideas fit the criteria."

As well as footpaths and play facilities, the funds could also be spent on other one-off projects such as making improvements to community facilities such as halls and meeting spaces.

The council and proposals have agreed assessment criteria for scoring bids can be made until September 27.

Details of the fund and how to apply can be found here: https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/worthing-cil/neighbourhood-fund/

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