Councillors will be given more power over street cleaning, road safety and parking issues.

As Kirklees Council looks to make sweeping budget cuts, more services will be devolved away from central council rule.

District Committees – which the public can attend – have been formed to lead on devolution.

If plans are approved by Full Council next year, each of the committees – Batley and Spen, Dewsbury and Mirfield, Huddersfield, Kirklees Rural – will work with a lead officer.

Examples of responsibility and services that could be devolved include street cleansing; smaller parks, large playing fields; allotments; grass cutting; road safety measures; grit bins; parking and pavement issues.

Council leader Clr David Sheard called for public ideas – including ones people may feel are ‘daft’.

He said: “If we want the community to be involved we need to encourage ideas, even ones that seem daft, because from that something good may come.”

He added: “I think it’s important for people in neighbourhoods to play a part, and I’m not just meaning rural neighbourhoods, but urban villages that associate themselves as a few streets rather than as a ward or district.

“I want these areas to influence what the priorities of the committees should be.”

Each of the committees will get a revenue budget to spend on projects, plus they will have a say in how 10% of the New Homes Bonus – a government grant – should be spent.

There was a divide between parties. Clr Andrew Palfreeman, Conservative, said: “We want communities to feel empowered, but if every idea we have has to come back to the top to be agreed by Cabinet it’s not devolution.”

Clr Sheard denied that was the case, saying district committees will still control revenue and local highway spending, plus will need to support funding for local projects.

Each area will draw up a Plan of Place that will set out a three-year vision for the area and what assets in it are vital.

Asked how the devolution will save Kirklees money, Clr Sheard replied: “It is going to save money in administration because we had more area committees previously, so there is an saving in having fewer committees.

“From next year we’ll still only have the same amount of money, but it’s about how we spend it that will make a difference and the District Committees will put forward ways to spend money that will make a bigger difference in each area.”

Michael Greene, Head of Safe and Cohesive Communities in Kirklees, said: “We will need to be flexible to encourage innovation on the ground, but we recognise we also need consistency across the borough.”

He said services that will remain central – including household waste collection – can be influenced by feedback from the District Committees.