To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.
Decision:
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £2,635 to Breachwood Green JMI School PTFA towards a new spectator rail which will enclose the sports pitch as outlined in 8.1.1- 8.1.4.
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £750 to Kimpton Folk Events to provide free entertainment at Kimpton Folk Festival on 1st July 2023 subject to the receipt of an adequate safeguarding policy.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 42 minutes 38 seconds
The Chair invited Aimee Flack, Community Engagement Officer, to provide an update on budgets. Ms. Flack thanked the Chair, gave a verbal update and advised:
· The 2022/23 base budget was £8,700 with £222 carried forward from 2021/22.
· The grants awarded to date totalled £3,306, which left £5,616 available.
· The grant applications for the meeting totalled £3,985, which if approved by Members, would leave £1,631 to be carried forward into 2023/24.
The Chair invited Kirsty Badman and Tighearnan Power, from Breachwood Green JMI School, to present. The grant applicants thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· Breachwood JMI School had 83 pupils.
· The school did not have a grass area due to its small size, and used the village recreation ground for PE lessons.
· Using the recreation ground was not ideal, as it is used by the public as well as the school.
· Pupils felt unsafe playing on the school’s concrete playground.
· The allocation of a grant would be a boost for the school, as they were aiming to raise £24,085 altogether to go towards an artificial grass area and fencing.
· The school had secured funding from local businesses, Christmas performances and raffle tickets.
· The £2,485 asked for in the application would go towards spectator fencing.
Councillor Ralph Muncer thanked the applicants, and highlighted that play was important for children’s cognitive development. He commented that the County Council, Parish Council and Sports England may be able to help with funding.
Councillor Claire Strong commented that this was a long-term project, and was happy to propose the full amount.
Councillor Faye Frost thanked the applicants, and commented that it was hard to raise money for schools and to ask parents for more money. She was pleased that the money would be going into grassroots and the project had her support.
Councillor Ian Moody thanked the applicants and asked what size the football pitch would be.
Ms. Badham advised that the football pitch would fit within land spare at the school, with 45m of fencing surrounding it. She advised that Think Sport used the school’s facilities during the school breaks to run holiday camps, so this project would benefit the wider community too.
Councillor Moody asked the applicant what was the remaining project balance.
Ms. Badham advised that the project was short of £150.
Councillor Claire Strong proposed and Councillor Ralph Muncer seconded and following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: £2,635 to Breachwood Green JMI School PTFA towards a new spectator rail which will enclose the sports pitch as outlined in 8.1.1- 8.1.4.
The Chair invited Steve Christopher from Kimpton Folk Events to present. Mr. Christopher thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· Kimpton Folk events had been a registered charity since 2015.
· The festival was run by volunteers with 5 trustees.
· The key objective was to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education and appreciation of folk music.
· The folk festival was the main event to reach this objective, however other live music events were put on throughout the year.
· The festival was in its sixth year, after two years out due to COVID.
· The festival was split into two parts: self-financing ticketed folk events and free community events.
· There were a range of concessions such as food and craft stalls.
· There was a variety of music, which various activities such as craft workshops, open mic and busker stops.
· The budget was £7,500, with performers being the largest costs.
· The grant application would go towards the free part of the festival.
· Since COVID, it had not been easy to secure funding.
The Chair advised that this grant application was contingent on the receipt of an adequate safeguarding policy, which would need to be reviewed.
Councillor Ralph Muncer commented that Kimpton had fantastic community events, which encouraged people to visit Kimpton. COVID was still having a massive impact on events, and advised the applicant to look at other grant funding such as a Locality Grant.
Then following Members asked questions:
· Councillor Faye Frost
· Councillor Claire Strong
In response to the questions, the applicant advised:
· The festival aimed to keep its reserves at 50% of the festival costs.
· The ticketed part of the event does not make a profit. The ticketed sales would break even and were expected to total £9,500.
· The festival had made other funding applications to different bodies this year.
· No reserves would be put into the running of the festival this year, funding would come from grants.
· The total costs of the event, including the free parts of the event would be over £17,000.
It was proposed Councillor Ralph Muncer and seconded by Councillor George Davies to offer £1,500 from the report’s recommendation and following the vote, it was tied.
Councillor George Davies, as Chair, had the casting vote and voted against the recommendation. Therefore, the vote was lost.
Following a discussion, Councillor Ralph Muncer proposed that £750 be awarded to the applicant. Councillor George Davies seconded, and following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £750 to Kimpton Folk Events to provide free entertainment at Kimpton Folk Festival on 1st July 2023 subject to the receipt of an adequate safeguarding policy.