Agenda item

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITIES MANAGER

 

To update  the Committee on the activities and actions of the Communities Officer, to advise on the current expenditure and balances of the delegated budgets and to consider applications for grant funding.

RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1,500 be awarded to White Thorn Bowls Club to contribute towards the costs of rebuilding the ditch gully and ditch wall.

 

REASON FOR DECISION: To support community groups and activities in Letchworth.

Audio Recording – Start time of Item – 1 hours, 15 minutes and 35 seconds

 

The Communities Officer presented the report entitled Grants and Community Update and drew attention to the following:

 

Grants in the pipeline:

 

·                     Ongoing discussions were taking place between local community groups and local faith groups to do some kind of multicultural event in the summer which would hopefully take part around the time of the Letchworth festival fortnight. 

·                     The food poverty group had tightened up on the way they received referrals so that the people who needed food got it.  Some people last year were getting lots of parcels from different agencies.  This was now being dealt with via a central point to ensure everyone in need received something rather than too much or too little. 

 

Chairman’s Volunteer Achievement Awards

 

·                     Nominations were available on the Council website for all categories of Volunteers. 

·                     Deadline for nominations was 21^st December 2018.

·                     The judging panel was due to meet on 9/10 January 2019 to judge the final categories and then those concerned would be notified, invited and awarded their awards at the Chairman’s Civic Reception in February.

 

BID Ballot

 

BID count was going to be the following day so the result was due to be available sometime that afternoon and would be made public on the Friday. 

 

BUDGET

 

2017/2018 discretionary grant budget was still being used.  £9,932 available to spend from last year’s budget with the 2018/2019 budget still intact.  In total £25,432 available.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Cunningham

 

The part of the report referred to in Section 8.3 was provided by Simon Ellis; so when Section 106 funding was collected for the new developments, it went towards new waste contract.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Needham

 

8.1.2.  The Food Poverty Network Group.  A really comprehensive list of who was invited to attend was provided.  The food bank did not attend despite saying they would.

 

Feed up Warm up

 

Worked with Shane Cole who had his own street food concession and he was very keen to provide free food for homeless people and rough sleepers somewhere in North Herts.  He came from Letchworth and was homeless as a teenager after coming out of the care system and felt very strongly that he wanted to help people especially leading up to Christmas.  He had been inundated with offers of help.  Letchworth businesses had been extremely generous donating sleeping bags, clothes, etc.  The pilot was starting this evening and throughout December.  He would like to carry on throughout the winter months and take it from there.  Councillor Billing had linked him in with Susie from Best Before Café because he could also use some of that waste food.  She also had a very good ethos having built things up gradually.  He would run the project from Hitchin initially. 

 

Councillor Needham knew that it was Shane’s intention to offer more than a warm meal from his van and many of the shops had been collecting toiletries and health care supplies e.g. plasters, etc.  Having visited the housing officer, it was thought that there were 8 rough sleepers between the Luton and Cambridge borders.  Councillor Billing stated that Shane had been to Stevenage town centre to encourage the rough sleepers to come over to Hitchin.  There were also hidden homeless and quite a lot of social surfers.  It was unlikely that housing people would know how many of those people were around. 

 

In response to a question from Councillor Sangha

 

Section 8.1.2 -  Food Poverty Network.  The funds for the purchase of luxury goods were to be donated from church groups and donations from customers in supermarkets and not from the Council.   

 

In response to a question from Councillor Clark

 

Historically, grant applications seemed to be quieter in December.  Last year the same thing happened and £7,000 was allocated in the March meeting.  Notifications were put in the local press, Facebook and also local organisations were continually reminded that grant applications were available as long as the local authority grant criteria was fulfilled.  Next grant deadline was 1^st February 2019. 

 

 

GRANT APPLICATION - WHITE THORN BOWLS CLUB

 

Councillor Levett raised the following:

 

·                     There were concerns and background paperwork had not been available during the meeting;

·                     Letchworth Corner Sports Club was receiving reasonable rental for the ground and had been for numerous years and was not contributing to the costs of what was actually an asset for them.  It was felt that they should be contributing towards the cost of repairs, 

·                     It was only benefiting a small number of residents which was a big grant request, 

·                     It was felt this was an expensive project.

 

Councillor Albert raised the following:

 

·                     Letchworth Corner Sports Club was probably paying a large rent to the Heritage Foundation and that they were by far the biggest contributor to the scheme.  Indirectly they were contributing as the Heritage foundation was pouring money back into the bowling green. 

·                     Letchworth Club Social Club was another community group run by volunteers.  They had clearly gone out of their way to raise a great deal of money themselves to support this.  The facility was so widely used that it was felt they should be keen to support this. 

 

Councillor Sangha raised the following:

 

·                     25 of the members were Letchworth residents; 

·                     He was concerned that paperwork was not available;

·                     It was stated that this would be a one off so would not be repeated and there was a plan for regular maintenance so it was self-sustaining; 

·                     Norton bowls club received similar funding on a small scale; 

·                     Needed to keep sports as the social fabric of the town intact but they had made an effort to obtain the money from other sources and as long as they could give assurance, he would be minded to support this. 

 

Councillor Cunningham raised the following:

 

·                     The sports club was deriving an income and was surprised that the basic structure of the club was not being sustained by the sports club; 

·                     Staggered by the cost of the repairs £30,000;  

·                     He would propose that £1,500 be given on the condition that the sports club match this. 

 

Councillor Oliver raised the following:

 

·                     He confirmed that Letchworth Sports club was not a full profit organisation.  If they were approached for funding they, in turn, may then require a grant which given the timescales would seem counterintuitive.

 

Councillor Rice raised the following:

 

·                     Seconded £1,500 and when approached by Norton Bowls club to do a very similar job, £500 was given. 

 

Councillor Mantle raised the following:

 

·                     No information about Letchworth Corner Sports Club; 

·                     Do they break even, run at a loss or are they subsidised by the members?  How could they have a resolution which involved a total unknown.  Grant should not be conditional on anything, it should be straightforward;

·                     There was a responsibility to help all sports including ones that are less popular.  There were a number of minority sports which would need some support;

·                     We should not be too held up on relatively small numbers of members and was this adding to the facilities for active involvement in sport for people of Letchworth. 

 

Councillor Allen raised the following:

 

·                     Norton was asking for plastic mats to go in the back of an existing gully as these gullies had collapsed and needed replacing so it was a totally different request. 

·                     It was felt that information was not available on Letchworth Corner Social Club due to the timescale so it would be impossible to say that they would give money on the condition that someone else does.  Their background was unknown and was unfair. 

 

Councillor Hone raised the following:

 

·                     Councillor Hone was not happy to make a condition on a 3^rd party so agreed with Councillors Mantle and Allen.  He was quite content to give £1500.  He made a contribution as County Councillor so could have declared an interest.  Was committed to making sure it happened. He felt he could not vote but would if he could have supported it.  

 

Councillor Sangha raised the following:

 

·                     With the missing information, we could commit to £1500.  He would make a proposal of £3,500 if this was seconded.  This was the backstop.

 

It was proposed and seconded that grant funding of £1,500 be awarded to White Thorn Bowls Club

 

RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1,500 be awarded to White Thorn Bowls Club to contribute towards the costs of rebuilding the ditch gully and ditch wall.

 

REASON FOR DECISION: To support community groups and activities in Letchworth.