WARD councillors in the Cotswolds will each have £2,000 a year to spend on environmental activities in their wards after the May elections.

The scheme was announced during the council’s budget-setting meeting on Tuesday February 24.

Every ward member will have a budget for local environmental impact work. The money could be used for more litter picking, road sweeping, sign cleaning, dog bins or anything that will help keep the Cotswolds clean and tidy, but based on local needs.

“This will be a genuine example of localism in action - building on similar schemes that we introduced such as the local Youth Activity Funds," said Cotswold District Council leader Councillor Lynden Stowe. "I’ve always been a great believer that the best people to allocate resources to local communities are our ward members, because they, better than anyone, know what makes the communities they represent tick."

Councillor Sue Coakley, cabinet member for environment and communities, added: “Our ward members are our closest link to communities, so it makes sense for them to be more involved and decide how best to spend this additional funding in their area.

“I feel that this is an excellent initiative which will augment our existing programme of street and road cleansing across the district and, indeed, the many local litter picks carried out by local communities and businesses.”