Communities in Glasgow will get control of £1m of council cash in a pilot scheme to give people more control over decisions.

Glasgow City Council has developed a plan to devolve the cash to four communities to be spent on specific priorities.

A residents group will be set up in each area to oversee the project and the spending of the cash.

The pilot areas selected are the four council wards with the highest poverty and inequality.

The four council wards and the themes for the projects are Calton for Child poverty, Canal in north Glasgow for Income and employment deprivation, Pollokshields for Black & Minority Ethnic and Greater Pollok for Young People.

The participatory budgeting pilots are the first of their kind in Scotland and is the first steps in the SNP keeping their manifesto promise to devolve £1m to communities in every council ward.

David McDonald, Deputy Leader of the council said: “This exciting shift in power will spark the minds and the imagination of citizens, it will help tackle local problems head-on and will engage people like never before in thinking about the future of their local areas.

“We will now start the work of deep engagement within the four selected areas developing and building the capacity of the local residents and working with a range of partners including the University of Glasgow to measure the impact of this new policy.”

Community activists backed the proposal and said it will help with regeneration and give people a say in decisions that affect where they live.

Robert Stewart, panel member of Spirit of Ruchill Possilpark in the Canal ward, said: “

“The beauty of Participatory Budgeting is that it offers frontline decision-making power to those who experience daily life in our communities.

“This is their chance to step up and take shared responsibility for the much-needed revival and future direction of their communities.”

Bill Fraser, Chair of The Pollokshields Trust, said: “We welcome the decision to build capacity at community level for Participatory Budgeting.

“Well informed and trained community organisations can be an additional resource for elected members and council officers so we can work together to address key local issues in a more democratic way.”