To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.
Decision:
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £932 to Buzzworks resources to help deliver educational sessions as outlined in paragraphs 8.1.1-8.1.4 of this report.
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £459 to Friends of Whitehill and Highbury Schools towards four gazebos as outlined in paragraphs 8.1.5-8.1.9 of this report.
RESOLVED: That the grant application from Red Media Love CIC be deferred to a later meeting of the Committee, so that further funding can be explored by the applicant with the support of Officers.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 61 minutes 40 seconds
The Chair invited Becca Edwards, Community Partnerships Officer to update Members on budgets. Ms Edwards thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· The 2022/23 base budget was £11,000, with £775 carried forward from 2021/2022. This gave a total of £11,775.
· The grants awarded to date totalled £6,679, which left £5,096.
· The grant applications for the meeting totalled £3,981, which if awarded, would leave £1,205 to carry forward into 2023/24.
· At the time of the grant applications, the locality budgets were used up or inaccessible, and applicants were advised not to approach County Councillors for funding.
The Chair invited Mari Stevenson of Buzzworks to present. Ms Stevenson thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· Buzzworks was a non-profit charitable organisation set up in 2007.
· The education centre worked with a wide-range of groups to engage and educate on the environmental health and wellbeing of bees.
· The grant would go towards engagement, and inspire community importance of bees.
The following Members asked questions:
· Councillor Sam Collins
· Councillor Val Bryant
· Councillor Clare Billing
In response to questions from Members, Ms Stevenson advised:
· A grant had been awarded to purchase a television screen, which would be linked to the cameras and microscopes.
· There were two types of hives at the education centre.
· The centre was based at Old Hale Way.
Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Clare Billing seconded, and following a vote it was:
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £932 to Buzzworks resources to help deliver educational sessions as outlined in paragraphs 8.1.1-8.1.4 of this report.
The Chair invited Karen Grant of Friends of Whitehill and Highbury Schools to present. Ms Grant thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· The organisation was a registered charity supporting Whitehill and Highbury schools.
· A priority for the organisation was to build community of schools, which was important post-pandemic.
· Current equipment was old and not fit for purpose.
· The funding application was for new gazebos, which would be needed for pre-loved uniform sales.
In response to the question from Councillor Sam Collins, Ms Stevenson advised that the organisation was working with other schools to arrange pre-loved uniform pop-ups over summer.
Councillor Sam Collins proposed and Councillor Nigel Mason seconded, and following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: That the Committee allocated £459 to Friends of Whitehill and Highbury Schools towards four gazebos as outlined in paragraphs 8.1.5-8.1.9 of this report.
The Chair invited the Community Partnerships Officer to present on behalf of Red Media Love CIC, who thanked the Chair, gave a verbal presentation and advised:
· Red Media Love CIC was a media company, specialising in films and exhibitions.
· The CIC had been to the Committee previously for £2,500 grant.
· The applicant was unable to attend and did not provide a written statement.
· The Singh Sabha football exhibition was due to take place between 8 August 2023 and 3 September 2023.
In response to the question from Councillor Ian Albert, the Community Partnerships Officer advised that Community Partnerships had advised the applicant to approach other sources of funding, including Kick It Out. The applicant had decided not to approach other sources.
The following Members took part in discussion:
· Councillor Sam Collins
· Councillor Clare Billing
· Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg
· Councillor James Denselow
· Councillor Richard Thake
· Councillor Keith Hoskins
· Councillor Ian Albert
Following discussion Councillor Sam Collins proposed to defer the grant application to a later meeting of the Committee. This was seconded by Councillor James Denselow, and following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: That the grant application from Red Media Love CIC be deferred to a later meeting of the Committee, so that further funding can be explored by the applicant with the support of Officers.