Kirklees Council has won €1m in a global competition.

And it’s thanks to a ‘borrowing, bartering and time-banking’ idea dubbed ‘Comoodle’.

They won the cash in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge for an idea to share council assets with the community.

Comoodle ideas are not set in stone - if a community has an idea they can pitch it and Kirklees will look to help.

So if someone wants to create a veg farm on a disused patch of land, Kirklees will look at what support it can offer, from loaning tools to gifting a shed not used elsewhere.

Or if a group of people want to borrow shovels to tidy up a park, Kirklees will loan them.

Residents can now help shape how Comoodle works by pitching ideas.

Clr David Sheard, Kirklees leader, said: “I’m very happy about this win.

“If you look at the other winners, like Barcelona, Stockholm, Athens and Warsaw, it shows that we can be among these top cities and it is an endorsement of the work our staff produce and the ideas they have.

“This has come at the perfect time for Kirklees. Necessity breathes ideas and while I think we’d have done something similar the competition has made it easier for us.

“It’s not just about the money, though that will definitely help, it’s an endorsement of the idea and the benefit it will have.”

Clr Sheard said Comoodle is about responding to public ideas: “The council has resources that are not always used: our school and council buildings at night, our vans at the weekend.

“We need to cut the red tape and stop thinking that insurance or legal issues are reasons for not doing something. We’re talking to insurers, they’re open to the idea.”

Next week Clr Sheard will jet off to San Francisco to attend a conference of 300 world leaders to talk about Kirklees’ winning idea.

He added: “I’m going there to learn how other people do things. This sharing idea can be done anywhere, not just in Kirklees, so there’ll be ideas from other cities we can look at.”

Kirklees was the only UK finalist and beat off competition from 155 cities in 28 countries to be in the top five of the Mayors Challenge, launched by Michael Bloomberg, former New York mayor.

He said: “The five winning ideas represent the best of the best, and all have the potential to improve lives.”

Barcelona won the €5m prize for a digital trust network for its aging population; Athens won for a concept to revive neighbourhoods after the economic crisis; Stockholm’s idea will fund environmentally-friends ideas to overcome climate change such as using waste to convert into organic substances; Warsaw won for a project for a blind and visually impaired mobile app to help them navigate the city.

To get involved in Comoodle visit www.comoodle.com .