Meeting documents

Councillor Mordue

Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Compliance

To consider the attached report

Contact Officer: Jan Roffe (01296) 585186

(a)       Decision(s)

That the Panel’s recommendations as set out in the Appendix to this Decision Notice, now including approval for funding towards the construction of a new village hall at Chearsley, be approved.

(b)       Reason(s) for Decision(s)

            The rationale behind the decisions is explained in the appendix attached to the Cabinet report.  Cabinet was of the view that the application from Chearsley Parish Council should be supported.

(c)       Alternative Options Considered

            The options considered by the Panel and subsequently by Cabinet were whether or not to fund the applications (specifically in the case of the application from Chearsley Parish Council) and whether or not to impose specific conditions.

            NOTE:  The Chairman of Chearsley Parish Council attended the meeting and read out a statement in support of the Parish Council’s application.

(d)       Relevant Scrutiny Committee

            Finance and Services. 

(e)       Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)

None.

Cabinet was advised that the Informal New Homes Bonus (NHB) Grants Panel had met on 7 September, 2016, to consider applications for funding from Parish and Town Councils under the NHB grant funding scheme.  Members were reminded that New Homes Bonus (NHB) was a national initiative whereby funding from the revenue support grant for local authorities had been top sliced and allocated to councils in proportion to the number of new homes in their area.

In December, 2012, AVDC had agreed to allocate a share of the NHB to Parish/Town Councils to help alleviate the impacts of housing growth on local communities.  20% of the allocation had been set aside for the funding scheme, which equated to £1,282,000 being available in 2016/2017, the fourth year of funding for Town/Parish Councils.  In addition, £15,578 had been carried over from the third round of funding, making a total of £1,297,578 available in the current funding round.

In January, 2013, Cabinet had agreed to establish an informal Panel to consider applications and make recommendations to Cabinet.  The Cabinet report summarised the approved criteria for applications.  Prospective applicants were required to submit a preliminary "expression of interest (EOI)" to identify whether projects met the key criteria and to enable an assessment to be made about alternative forms of funding such as that available in accordance with Section 106 Agreements.

In total, 12 EOIs or enquiries had been received and 8 Parish and Town Councils had subsequently submitted firm applications with a total value of £1,485,099.  The Informal Panel had also been asked by Turweston Parish Council to consider increasing the amount of grant awarded in the 2014/15 funding round.

The Panel had been unanimous in recommending funding for 4 of the applicants, totalling £674,295.  The Panel had also recommended increasing the grant to Turweston Parish Council by the amount requested, making a total of £684,295.  The Panel had declined to fund two applications.

In considering the first of two applications from Haddenham Parish Council for a Haddenham to Aylesbury cycleway, the Panel had been supportive of the principle of the project but had felt that the level of information in the application was insufficient.  The Panel had therefore recommended that the funds be ring fenced and the Parish Council invited to re-submit a more detailed application with a clear project and delivery plan and costings.  It had been felt that this application should be submitted by the end of this financial year, i.e. no later than 31 March, 2017.

With regard to an application from Chearsley Parish Council for the rebuilding of the village hall, the Panel had been divided.  Although the application was very thorough, and the scheme was of high quality, the Panel had not been entirely convinced that the application was in keeping with the original NHB funding criteria because of the limited impact of growth in the village.  The Panel had had therefore referred the final decision to Cabinet.  The Chairman of Chearsley Parish Council attended the meeting and made a statement in support of the application.  After careful consideration and taking all the information into account, Cabinet was of the view that the application should be supported.

An application had been submitted by Quainton Parish Council on behalf of Quainton Tennis Club, but the Panel had questioned whether the project fully fitted with the NHB funding criteria i.e. the provision of community facilities associated with growth which had tangible benefits for the community accepting that growth.  The Tennis Club was a members only club that did not currently offer any pay and play community access options.  The Panel had therefore recommended that the application be refused.  The Panel’s decisions with the rationale behind them had been summarised in a schedule attached as an Appendix to these Minutes.

It was reported that once the Panel’s decisions had been agreed, funding agreements would be finalised with the successful applicants, which would include timescales for delivering the projects.  The grant awards would be made on completion of particular phases.

All the funding under the scheme would be drawn from the 20% set aside and ring fenced for the scheme in 2016/2017.  As previously mentioned, the underspend from 2015/2016 would be carried forward.  The Panel’s recommendations totalled £524,295 plus £376,372 for Chearsley village hall.  This represented 82% of the budget available, with £236,911 being carried forward to support future applications.

RESOLVED –

That the Panel’s recommendations as set out on the schedule attached as an Appendix to these Minutes, which now included approval for funding for the construction of a new village hall at Chearsley, be approved.