A ROYSTON councillor has been dipping into her budget to fund local projects this week – including one that is set to illuminate the town.

Cllr Fiona Hill, Herts county councillor for Royston, has allocated just under �2,500 of her yearly �10,000 locality budget in a matter of days, with a chunk of that going towards the Christmas lights at the Market Hill Rooms in Royston Town centre.

Along with �250 from fellow councillor Tony Hunter, �832 from Cllr Hill will go towards the display.

“We are delighted to be able to help improve last year’s display, which was very well received,” said Cllr Hill.

“The new lights will make the area very welcoming and attractive and will hopefully draw more shoppers, giving a boost to local businesses, and generally encouraging people to get into the festive spirit.”

On top of this, Cllr Hill has allocated �1,000 to the Royston branch of the Girl Guides, which will be put towards a renovation of their premises. New windows and doors will now be fitted thanks to the funding.

Cllr Hill said: “I’m happy to be able to support the Guides in this way. They offer a great opportunity for local girls to play a positive role in their community.”

Sport North Herts have also been beneficiaries of Cllr Hill’s budget, receiving �500 to go towards the �26,000 needed to meet expenses for training and equipment for talented stars of the future.

“The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games are not far off. We have some real rising stars in Royston, but competing regionally or nationally is sometimes prohibitively expensive for them,” she said.

“Fund-raising by organisations such as Sport North Herts will provide a real boost to these sportsmen and women.”

Finally, a consortium of six HCC Councillors has allocated a total of �1,200 to Hertfordshire Music Service with Cllr Hill contributing �100.

The money will go towards the cost of running the young composers project in North Hertfordshire.

“The workshops are being offered to a wide range of schools and young musicians throughout North Herts providing a unique opportunity to work with a professional orchestra and composer which, it is hoped, may encourage a life-long interest in music,” said Cllr Hill.

A locality budget of �10,000 is given to each Herts County Councillors once a year, to be allocated to the councillors’ cause of choice.