Agenda item

(Asset Management & Economic Development Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-015-2016/17).

(1)        That the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund Policy be adopted, subject to the following addition within the “Who can apply?” section:

            “Where an organisation may not fulfil all of the above criteria, it is important             that this is brought to our attention as early as possible so that any       implications arising from this can be considered and a decision made as to         whether the organisation can proceed with the application. If you wish to     discuss any aspect of this, please do not hesitate to contact the Economic         Development team.”;

(2)        That all decisions under the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund be made by the Portfolio Holder for Asset Management and Economic Development under the provisions for ‘Decision Making by Portfolio Holders’ within Article 14 of the Constitution; and

(3)        That the continuation of the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund and Policy in future years be subject to the success of the annual bid for funding from the District Development Fund.

The Portfolio Holder for Asset Management & Economic Development presented a report on the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund Policy.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that, at its meeting in December 2015, it was agreed that District Development Funding be requested from the Council in the sum of £35,000 for 2016/17 to continue the work of the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund. Making these funds available for the Town Centre Partnerships, smaller District centres and other appropriatelyconstituted organisations to bid for, encouraged them to think creatively about how they could sustainably promote their Town and District centres and create initiatives that had a lasting impact on the shopping centre economy.Furthermore, in order to formalise the scheme and to support its extension to encompass a wider range of properly constituted groups and organisations, the Cabinet had also agreed that a formal policy document be drafted setting out the full terms and conditions of the scheme and detailing the criteria for those groups that would be eligible to bid.

The Portfolio Holder reported that funding totalling £14,856 was allocated to 4 schemes during 2015/16, with a further project seeking seed funding up to £1,800. The four schemes funded last year were: two local town centres producing business directories; a village centre scheme to build a floral display area and seating facility; and the procurement of a refreshed tourism website for the District. All funding decisions from the Fund would be made via a delegated decision by the Portfolio Holder, with each decision subject to call-in. The future of the Fund would remain subject to the success of the annual bid for funding from the District Development Fund.

The Portfolio Holder requested an amendment to the Policy be agreed, to ensure that organisations which did not meet every requirement within the Policy could still be considered and a decision made on the application, following discussions with Officers from the Economic Development Team.

The Cabinet welcomed the expansion of the Policy, but also wanted to see firm results for the Town & Village centres from this funding. The Finance Portfolio Holder added that if monies from this fund was not used then he expected it to be returned to the General Fund.

Decision:

(1)        That the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund Policy be adopted, subject to the following addition within the “Who can apply?” section:

            “Where an organisation may not fulfil all of the above criteria, it is important             that this is brought to our attention as early as possible so that any       implications arising from this can be considered and a decision made as to         whether the organisation can proceed with the application. If you wish to     discuss any aspect of this, please do not hesitate to contact the Economic         Development team.”;

(2)        That all decisions under the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund be made by the Portfolio Holder for Asset Management and Economic Development under the provisions for ‘Decision Making by Portfolio Holders’ within Article 14 of the Constitution; and

(3)        That the continuation of the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund and Policy in future years be subject to the success of the annual bid for funding from the District Development Fund.

Reasons for Decision:

In adopting a formal policy for the fund, organisations were able to decide whether to apply with clarity, understanding and certainty as to whether they were eligible, what the scheme’s objectives were, how applications would be processed and decisions made and how they would be expected to demonstrate the success of their proposal.

The Policy also enabled the Council to demonstrate how it intended the funding to be used and to set out its expectations of each organisation so as to ensure the money was used in an appropriate and transparent way.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not adopt the policy, or to adopt the policy in a revised form.