The people of St Neots are invited to a public forum to discuss ways to make the town an even better place to live, work and have fun.

St Neots Town Council is hosting the session at The Priory Centre on Saturday, July 16 and it starts at 10am.

The council says as St Neots grows, the expanding population puts more demands on the facilities people rely on, but new housing also brings additional funds to respond to this growth.

"With the significant expansion to the east of St Neots, the Town Council has some substantial funding coming its way over the next decade. It wants residents’ help in deciding how best to plan for future projects and invest funding," the council told The Hunts Post.

These Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments from developers must be used for the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure, or anything else that addresses the demands that development places on the area.

Other layers of local government are responsible for the biggest and costliest infrastructure, such as roads, schools and GP surgeries. The town council’s focus will be on the things that bring added value to people’s lives: community facilities, public toilets, youth, culture, heritage and leisure facilities.

Mayor of St Neots, Cllr Ben Pitt, said “It’s a rare opportunity to have funding that isn’t tightly ring-fenced. My fellow councillors and I are determined that we use this money effectively. That means finding out what’s important to local residents, what they feel is missing and what would enrich their quality of life.”

The public forum meeting on July 16 is the council’s way of starting a dialogue with local people.

There will be presentations on six projects, put forward by council members, local charities and community groups. Members of the public will have a chance to ask questions and share their views.

Head over to the Priory Centre, Priory Lane on July 16 at 10am.