Merseyside Police Participatory Budgeting 2025
Communities across Merseyside and the Wirral have been deciding on funding from the Proceeds of Crime.
For example, in Belle Vale £25,000 is available from the Big Bid, Belle Vale Matters fund. Grants ranging from £500 to £5,000 are available for projects that will benefit the Belle Vale area. Applicants will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to the community at the Belle Vale Matters Participatory Budget Event, taking place at the Millennium Centre on Friday 1 August 2025. Local residents will vote to decide which projects receive funding.
This is the latest in a series of similar events led by the Merseyside Police, including events where young people decide, or, as in Belle Vale, anyone in the community.
Earlier this year more than 600 people in Woodchurch, Noctorum, and Beechwood & Ballantyne cast their votes for local projects, nearly 200 more than participated in the process when it ran for the first time in 2024. A total of £44,500 was awarded to 23 projects in these three areas. The funding came from a combination of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and local social housing providers. £30,000 of the money was awarded from the Proceeds of Crime Act, where assets seized from convicted criminals is reinvested in communities.
Find out more on Merseyside Police’s website about the launch of the Belle Vale PB fund
Read about other recent programmes mentioned above on the Birkenhead News webpage