JUNIOR cricket and a patients' group were among the winners in a public vote to decide how a town would spend £15,000.

The 'sensible spending' event was held at Dulverton Town Hall on Saturday, February 20 at the climax of a two-day exhibition of the Parish Plan.

Community groups each had three minutes to persuade the audience that their project offered good value for money, was deliverable and benefited the whole of the town.

Some 17 ideas together worth more than £30,000 came forward and were voted on by more than 60 people.

Alongside £935 for junior cricket and £1,000 for the patients' group, other successful bidders included three dance groups — for the elderly, ballroom, and young people. Money was also made available for floodlighting at the sports field and to cover the squash club's running costs.

A grant of £820 was also made towards gritting and clearing snow from local roads including Amory Road and the routes to the town's schools and new medical centre.

The town is taking part in a national programme to ask locals how public funds could be better spent and is the first in a national park to get involved.

Dulverton Town Council chairman Chris Nelder explained: "The town council wants to support the most effective and efficient delivery of public services in the town by involving residents."

The current incarnation of the Parish Plan, to which 261 households contributed, was also on display in the town hall on Friday and Saturday.

West Somerset Council leader Keith Ross said: "This event has been highly successful and demonstrates how local communities can make decisions in a democratic way to spend public money, rather than having distant authorities deciding for us."

The idea of 'sensible spending' originated in Brazil around 20 years ago, as a way of giving taxpayers more say on where their money was spent.

Bodies that are supporting Dulverton's initiative also had displays at the exhibition— NHS Somerset, district and town councils, Exmoor National Park, the police and fire services, and Magna Housing.