Community voices needed in the Borough of Scarborough

Community voices are needed in the Borough of Scarborough as part of the 'Better Borough' Team.

The Council is looking for people to be the voice of their community's views and to help convey important information about local council services to neighbours and local groups.

The authority says it is in a bid to create a team of people who will work to improve communications and engagement between the council and communities throughout the borough.

The Better Borough Team will consist of ten volunteers, living in different parts of the borough, who will use an informal ‘peer to peer’ approach to engage at the heart of their own community, using a variety of methods, including focus groups, online channels and printed material.

It is hoped that by empowering members of the community in this way, it will build a greater level of trust between the council and local residents, help to strengthen communities and allow residents to be directly involved in building a better borough for all.

The council isn’t adopting a formal recruitment process for team members. Instead, expressions of interest to join the team are invited from those who like meeting and talking to people, have a genuine interest in making the borough a better place to live and work in and would feel comfortable giving constructive feedback to the council. The council is interested in hearing from people of all ages and backgrounds, including young people and those from minority groups.

In return, full training, expenses and a great sense of achievement will be provided.

More information about how the team will work and details of how to get involved can be found on the council’s website at scarborough.gov.uk/buildingabetterborough

Alternatively, people can email liam.bamforth@scarborough.gov.uk or call 01723 384418.

The closing date for expressions of interest to join the team is Friday 4 December.

Cllr Liz Colling, Scarborough Borough Council Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth said:

“We’re very excited about building this new team of people to help us better understand the needs of our communities and how we can improve the services we deliver to build a better borough.

“The team will also play a vital role in getting important information and messages about council services to those who might not engage with us directly.

“Even though our councillors and staff are a friendly bunch, we understand that some people can find it a little bit daunting communicating through traditional channels.

“We hope that by giving people the opportunity to speak to someone who is ‘one of them’, the flow of information and feedback will improve, views will be more representative of the wider community and a greater sense of community pride will be achieved.”