Thirty-five proposals worth over £5,000 have been submitted for funding from the Richmond Council’s new Village Planning scheme.

Residents, businesses, and community groups who are living or operating in the borough have been outlining their project ideas to the council for the past two months.

Suggestions and proposals from all Village Planning Fund ‘clusters’ have included a variety of projects such as green space improvements, community vehicles, community café extensions, disability access for public buildings and a toy resource library.

Cllr Pamela Fleming, Richmond Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Business and Community, said: “This is a fantastic response and whilst we are still reviewing each of the proposals, I can already see that we have some excellent projects.

“Village Planning has given everyone a chance to identify priorities for their area and we have seen how passionate people are about where they live and work. This fund will help make some of the community ideas and initiatives a reality.

“I am looking forward to the next stage of the process, giving the community a real say in how this money should be spent.”

Over the next few weeks officers will be reviewing all the applications to check they meet the necessary criteria before residents across the borough will be asked to show their support for viable applications in early Autumn.

The Village Planning Fund comes from the community infrastructure levy - a tax collected by the council and paid by developers.

A portion of the total tax collected will also fund local priority projects which address the impact development has on an area.