ROLL up, roll up - the 'listening council roadshow' is coming to town. Lancaster city council has launched a series of new initiatives aimed at getting the community interested in local government. The campaign has been launched to co-incide with 'Local Democracy Week' in a bid to encourage public participation in local decision making.

The three new initiatives include a junior citizenship project, listening council roadshows and the Community Challenge 2000 scheme.

For the junior citizenship project, local school children will be encouraged to meet and talk openly with the mayor. This will include a full, guided tour of the town hall with resource packs and special certificates handed out as a memento of their visit.

Lancaster's mayor, Cllr Abbott Bryning, said: "We want to tap into the enthusiasm of local schoolchildren. We want them to learn more about the council's important role in the community, the work of the mayor and keeping of the traditions of our historic and prestigious city."

The council is keen to meet local people and hear their views. A series of 'Listening Council Roadshows' is planned for the whole district. Lucky Morecambe will get the first roadshow in July and deputy leader, Cllr Ian Barker, said: "The roadshow will cover all parts of the district and are a great way of meeting local people. The views generated from these roadshows will help to shape our future plans and spending patterns. We want the Council to be more open and accessible to the people who live and work in the district."

The Community Challenge 2000 scheme involves spending £1 million on community projects throughout the district. It's public money to be spent on projects the public want.

Council Leader, Cllr Stanley Henig, said: "We seem to have caught the public imagination. The council is still at an early stage on working out the details of the scheme but already a lot of people have come forward with interesting ideas. All of these will be considered. We will be giving a good deal of priority to those schemes which actively involve the community - particularly when money is being raised from other sources."

the mayor Cllr Abbott Bryning

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.