Residents in Edinburgh will benefit from £2m extra investment by the City of Edinburgh Council this year in services which will improve their lives and boost the city.

The Council meeting approved the proposed investment, identified as the result of prudent financial management across all services. The list of areas was drawn up after the Council listened to local people on where they think priorities should lie.

It consists of:

•£500k for pothole and pavement repairs

•£650k for street cleansing and local community environmental priorities

•£250k for road safety and active travel projects to help bus passengers, cyclists and blind travelers

•£100k for telecare investment such as GPS systems to aid people suffering from dementia

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•£100k specialist equipment for disabled and elderly people

•£100k for the 'Open for Business' programme including investment in the West End village

•£35k to boost promotion of the city through Marketing Edinburgh

•£100k to give disadvantaged and disabled children the chance to use sport and outdoor centres

•£100k for a youth music and arts innovation fund to ensure no child is held back by lack of money

•£30k to expand internet security workshops for S1 pupils covering issues like online bullying

•£10k towards protecting and preserving the City Archives for future generations and allowing them to be displayed for all to see

•£25k to develop the 'Whole Place' approach through the Edinburgh Design Initiative.

"Prudent financial management is allowing us to make this major investment in many areas which will make a real difference to people's lives. This is also being done at a time when organisations all over the country are facing extremely challenging financial decisions resulting in a lot of cuts," said Council Leader Jenny Dawe.

"We talked to people and groups across the city to find out their priorities - where they want to see the Council spending money in the future. "This feedback has meant that we can now invest in areas that matter to people, on things that improve the city and generally improve quality of life."

(CD/DW)