Lancashire County Cllr Andrew Snowden and his wife, Caroline, have long stood by their pledge of putting the ethos of ‘caring and campaigning for the community’ at the heart of everything they do.
As part of being a County Councillor, Andrew gets a pot of money each year to spend on community groups and causes. He has taken this opportunity to make sure that this is fairly distributed to support the things residents (the taxpayers who ultimately fund these grants) most want.
He said “I want to make sure that the people I was elected to serve and support, decide where my local member grants are spent – I don’t want the money agreed behind closed doors. So I published an article in my newsletter and on my social media asking people where they thought the funds should go - I've been really touched by how many people have got in touch and appreciated this gesture”
So far Andrew has awarded £400 to the Flux Dance Academy (Andrew pictured with some of the members) who are a community dance group in the local villages. They were founded as an after school club a few years ago and have gone on to win the national cheerleading competition last year. The grant will fund transport to enable parents and children to get to competitions.
He has also awarded £250 to the Brindle Over Fifty Fives (BOFFS) who are a great community group, and £200 to both Chorley Scouts and Brindle Village Show.