Children as young as 11 will be able to vote alongside adults as a special election comes to High Wycombe for the first time next week.

Buckinghamshire County Council’s ballot - ‘High Wycombe Decides’ - allows residents to choose where community cash is spent in the town.

The council, via its High Wycombe Local Area Forum (LAF), has £17,500 to spend locally among eight projects.

Chairman of the High Wycombe LAF Val Letheren said: “The idea is that residents decide how this money should be shared out.

“Councillors and officers could have sat down and made these decisions, of course, but we feel the people should have a say on exactly where their money goes.”

“We do hope residents will take the opportunity to take part in the ballot. This scheme has worked very well elsewhere in the county, with literally thousands of people voting, but this is the first time we have held it in High Wycombe, so we are very excited to see how it will turn out.”

Organisations vying for a slice of the cash include the Chiltern Rangers, Downley Community Library, Wycombe Homeless Connection and SKIDZ.

Youngsters as young as 11 will be able to cast their vote after the council decided to throw the scheme open to younger beneficiaries of the cash.

Mrs Letheren said: “The special part of this scheme is that children, who normally cannot vote in the elections until they are 18, can have their say as well.

“Remember every vote counts whatever the age of the person voting. Please get involved and show that Wycombe’s community has a voice of its very own."

Residents of High Wycombe and Downley will be able to vote online and also via ballot forms which will be available in libraries, post offices, village shops and pubs. The ballot will be launched at 11am next Tuesday, May 26 by Mrs Letheren in Church Street, High Wycombe.

The eight organisations/projects bidding for a share of the £17,500 are: ‘Bucks New Usage’ at Bucks New University; Boomerang Toy Library - Bucks Play Association; Be a Ranger for a Day - Chiltern Rangers; Developing Downley Community Library - The Downley Old School Community Association; ‘Cooking for Confidence’ food education workshops – Empower to Cook CIC; Motor Mechanics Course for young people – SKIDZ; Tenancy Support - Wycombe Homeless Connection; Early Identification and Support of Young Carers in School - Young Carers Bucks.

For more details on the projects and how to vote, go to www.buckscc.gov.uk/communitiesdecide