Archived decisions
Hampshire County Council
Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage
6 September 2001
Community Support Grants 2001/02
Report of the Director of Arts, Countryside and Community
Contact: Margaret Plumridge ext 6173
1. Background
1.1 The County Council works in partnership with Community Associations and Village Hall Committees who seek to enable local people to meet the recreational, educational, social, cultural and environmental needs of their local communities. These organisations give local people an opportunity to participate in local activities and encourage local initiatives by people of all ages.
2. Purpose of Report
2.1 The purpose of this report is:
i) to provide details of requests for financial support from Voluntary Village Halls and Community Centres from the Community Grants Fund;
3. Community Grants Fund 2001/02
3.1 The Sport and Community Panel at its meeting on 18 February 1999 agreed the policy, conditions and criteria for grant aid from this fund. The Recreation and Heritage Committee at its meeting on 25 March 1999 ratified this policy. An amendment regarding lottery partnership funding was agreed at the panel meeting on 17 February 2000.
3.2 At the Sport and Community Panel in June 2000 a policy appertaining to General and Project Reserves retained by applicant organisations was adopted. All the applicants in this round have reserves within the terms of that policy.
3.3 The projects summarised in Appendix 1 and set out in detail in Appendix 2 meet all the terms and conditions of the fund and have been allocated funding according to those conditions as agreed within the policy document.
3.4 An application has also been received in respect of the major refurbishment of Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney. This scheme was supported with a grant of £5,000 approved in June 2000, followed by a further grant of £7,500 in October 2000, bringing support up to the maximum contribution of £12,500. The current application is for support towards £13,499 of work excluded from the original scheme at contract stage. Whilst this work has already attracted £5,000 from the Parish Council and £4,000 from Winchester City Council, the request for the balance of £4,500 is considered to be outside the policy as the work is part of the original scheme of refurbishment.
3.5 The project in Appendices 3 and 4 does not meet all the current criteria for grant aid but has been brought forward for consideration.
4. Financial Position
4.1 Of the nine applications being considered, four are building refurbishments/ extensions required as a result of the Disability Discrimination Act. In the financial year 2000/01, one third of the applications received were similar requests and 40% of the Community Grants Fund was allocated to these projects. Often there is a need to build an extension to a Village Hall/Community Centre in order to make appropriate provision. Consequently the number of projects costing over £100,000 is increasing. Many of the organisations managing these projects are also applying to the Community Fund, (National Lottery Charities Board), as funding is available from this source for these types of projects. The need to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act is likely to cause a continuing increase in the number of this type of application until 2004.
4.2 The original budget allocation agreed at the meeting of the Sport and Community Panel in February 2001 was £92,300. At the Recreation and Heritage Committee meeting on 28 June 2001 £66,221 was allocated and £30,591 was returned to the community grants fund. Consequently £56,670 remained.
4.3 The total value of the applications in this round are:-
£
Grants meeting criteria 37,480
Grants to be considered individually 635 Total 38,115
If approved, a balance of £18,555 will remain in the Community Grants Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
That the grants totalling £38,115 as set out in appendices one to four be approved for payment.