Cheshire East Council has defended its decision to offer residents a £60 voucher to attend a community assembly.

The assembly was held at Holmes Chapel last week and the council's advert said participants who attend would receive a £60 One4All gift card as a thank you for their time.

The council has come under fire from some residents questioning why it was 'paying' people to attend.

One posted on Facebook: "Surely the £60 gift card/incentive would be better spent or given to charities or the local community.

"It gives out the wrong message and probably entices individuals who normally have no interest in local councils."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Cheshire East why it was giving out the cards and whether they had been donated or if the council was paying for them itself.

A Cheshire East spokesperson said: "Community assemblies are part of improving the way the council listens to residents about the issues that matter most.

"They are designed to bring together a diverse group of residents from across the borough.

"Incentives are commonly used for events like these to encourage participation from a broad cross-section of the community.

"They recognise attendees' time and travel costs as well as other commitments like caring responsibilities, and they help reduce barriers to participation.

"The £60 voucher was considered a proportionate incentive for attending a two-hour evening community assembly, and it reflects the council's commitment to ensuring residents from all backgrounds and communities can have their say."

The council did not say who had paid for the vouchers – but did say 26 residents attended and opted to take them.

The cost of that would have been £1,560.

The spokesperson added: "The purpose of the event was to gather resident feedback to help inform future budget proposals and engagement activity.

"The council received valuable insight about residents' priorities, their ideas and principles to feed into the next stages of the budget development and consultation process."

Any resident aged over 18 can join Cheshire East Council's community voices panel, where they may receive invitations to future community assemblies, by visiting www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/join

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