Darlaston towns fund public meeting at Darlaston Town.
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00:00 First of all, thank you for coming today. I'm Councillor Matt Warden, leader of the Water and Labour Group and also a councillor in Darsing South.
00:07 These meetings we've called today to get the community involved in this project.
00:12 So you're going to hear what this money can be spent on, what it can't be spent on, and around are some of the maps of localities.
00:20 For us as local councillors, it's about making sure that the community is involved at every stage of this process.
00:27 So where we are at the moment is that we need to get more community involvement, we need to get more community on the board.
00:33 So we take the community on this journey and not being done to the community.
00:39 On the table today we've got some council officers and other local councillors.
00:46 I will hand over to Paul Gordon who will tell you about what the money can be spent on.
00:51 On your tables there are three criteria. So these are all things that the money can go on.
00:57 It's part of the three criteria.
01:04 So although we're here at the top table, we're here to listen to you today.
01:08 It's all about what you want in the community. That's what this money is for.
01:11 £20 million over 10 years. So I'm going to hand over to Paul Gordon now who is our lead officer and director of the council.
01:19 Thank you councillor.
01:22 Hi, how are you today?
01:25 I'm so glad.
01:28 So firstly thank you for inviting me to this meeting today.
01:33 I think it's really really timely because we've got to appeal.
01:37 There's a real opportunity now to make sure that the investment that we've got to put in place around the long term pack of towns is used wisely.
01:46 So this gives us a real good opportunity to start an ongoing conversation.
01:51 Some of you I recognise and we've talked to you already about how we're approaching it.
01:56 I apologise if some of the words I use are a repeat of that.
02:01 But it's important that we talk to as many people as we possibly can to make sure that the community are really really involved in this programme.
02:09 So the long term towns, the title is £20 million over 10 years.
02:14 That sounds like a lot of money.
02:18 In real terms that is less than £500,000 of revenue in a year over the next 10 years.
02:26 And it's just under £5 million of capital over the next 10 years.
02:31 And you can't bring it all forward, so you can't all spend it in one.
02:35 So it's got to be spread over the period of 10 years.
02:39 So in reality what does that mean for one of us?
02:43 Unless we can show that we engage with you properly, take your ideas on board and that you're part of the journey of creating what I think is really exciting with Darliston.
02:53 I love working at Darliston. People here are really passionate, they're really committed and they're there when the community needs them.
03:02 So I think it's a really really good opportunity to build on that.
03:06 I said Darliston again. I was visiting Moxley the other day and people over there say they're a forgotten part of forgotten Darliston.
03:17 And we should always remember that in the area, Moxley is there and we want to make sure that where it's spent is money, it's where it's going to matter across the pitch rather than in one particular area.
03:30 And that's really the key for us to ensure that happens.
03:34 Moxley councillors are represented on the board as are Darliston South councillors as well as many of the Darliston councillors are represented on the board.
03:44 And they are taking active part in discussions around how this money should be spent.
03:50 There are board members in the group today. I won't introduce them because I think they're coming to listen more to us at all about what's happening in Darliston.
03:59 But I think everybody on the board thinks it's a really really exciting project. It's community led and from our perspective that's a really really great opportunity.
04:10 So if you take a look at the maps at some point, the red line around the area, that is likely to change very very slightly.
04:18 There's two areas slightly outside of the border of Darliston South and Daintley which might drift away during conversations with the Department of Housing and at the moment about how it's going to be addressed.
04:35 So it might change slightly but the bulk of it is Darliston.