Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Email: committees@midsussex.gov.uk 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Roll Call and Virtual Meeting Explanation

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and took a roll call of Members present. Tom Clark, Solicitor, provided a virtual meeting explanation.

 

2.

To note Substitutes in Accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4 - Substitutes at Meetings of Committees etc.

Minutes:

None as all Members were present.

3.

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

None as all Members were present.

 

4.

To receive Declaration of Interests from Members in respect of any matter on the Agenda.

Minutes:

Cllr Belsey declared a prejudicial interest in the application for the extension of the grant for Age East Grinstead as he is the Chairman of the organisation. He also declared a personal interest in the application from East Grinstead Town Council as he is an East Grinstead Town Councillor.

 

Cllr Hillier declared a personal interest as he is a West Sussex County Councillor as West Sussex County Council has been referred to a number of times in the report. He also declared that he is a member of the Bentswood Community Partnership whom likely will receive grant funding.

 

5.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting of the Panel held on 29 June 2020 pdf icon PDF 307 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Grants Panel, held on 29 June 2020 were approved as a correct record and electronically signed by the Chairman.

 

6.

To consider any items that the Chairman agrees to take as urgent business.

Minutes:

None.

 

7.

To receive representations from Members of the Council on the applications.

Minutes:

No representations were received.

8.

Corporate Grants Schemes Review pdf icon PDF 633 KB

Minutes:

Emma Sheridan, Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance, introduced the report which presented the review of Community Grant awards made under the Community and Economic Development (CED) Grants programme from 2015-20 as well as setting out proposals regarding the delivery of a new £300,000 Covid19 Recovery Grant fund for businesses and community organisations.

 

The Vice-Chairman applauded the mention of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in the report and the work with the Business Associations. He felt impressed that £300,000 was available in the COVID-19 Recovery Grant Fund however sought reassurances from officers that it would be well spent. He expressed that he would like the money spent on businesses that are sustainable or bringing forward sustainable projects as he believed that there are tough times ahead and the Council would need to be hard-headed about the grants that it provides.

 

The Chairman expressed his desire to support as many organisations as possible as the Council cannot afford to prop-up organisations that would not be viable or sustainable in the long-term. He believed that COVID-19 will be around for a long time and that national government, local government, the voluntary sector, businesses, business associations, community organisations, the NHS and many other organisations will have to pull together, in partnership, to recover as much as possible.

 

The Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance noted that any SLA would be reviewed by the Cabinet Grants Panel who can refer it to Cabinet for their review and agreement. She also noted that the report requested the agreement that the existing SLAs be extended for a year so that the review is carried out alongside the other SLAs before being referred to Cabinet. In response to the Vice-Chairman’s request for reassurance, she confirmed that there is a robust criteria and application process overseen by both Community Services and the Economic Development Team; the assessment will ensure that core costs are not funded and instead provide for their response to COVID-19 or provide a new innovation or service in a post COVID-19 world.

 

The Chairman noted that SLAs are discussed in Section 6 of the report.

 

The Vice-Chairman sought clarification on how the figures for the respective grants were arrived at. He expressed his delight that the Council will be launching a ‘Shop Local’ campaign however with Brexit and the economic challenges of the pandemic expected he wished for further marketing on shopping British. He noted Paragraph 5.1.1 on P.14 which referred to town-based events however he presumed the reference to imply community-based events so as not to preclude the parishes and larger villages.

 

The Chairman noted the that the previous contracts with Age UK were arranged by West Sussex County Council. He also noted the benefits from buying British and buying local.

 

The Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance confirmed that the Council does co-commission work with West Sussex County Council. She added that Age UK East Grinstead only deals with the north whereas the others work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Corporate Grants Schemes pdf icon PDF 267 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Elaine Clarke, Community Facilities Project Officer, introduced the report to present three releases of S106 contributions and one release of Covid-19 Emergency Responses request for consideration by the Cabinet Grants Panel. She also presented recommendations to allow an extension of time and an amendment to the S106 contributions allocated to the Haywards Heath Tennis Club and amend the grant agreement with the St Francis Sports & Social Club to allow for a phased delivery of the project. She noted that The Branch Line, whom received a grant of £50,868 in February 2019, were unable to raise the match funding required by the grant, so the funds will instead be released and used to fund other projects.

 

Haywards Heath Tennis Club

 

The Community Facilities Project Officer presented the request for an extension of time and an amendment to the S106 contributions allocated to the Haywards Heath Tennis Club. She noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has created some delay and the Club have requested a 12-month extension of time to October 2021 to secure the funds, with a further twelve months to deliver the project. She also noted that under the terms of the grant agreement the Council has required the Club to make the facility available to community activities for a number of hours every week and that the Council will be looking to improve the facilities such as the improving the gate to allow automatic entry for online bookings.

 

The Vice-Chairman expressed support for the recommendation but enquired how enforcement will be carried out to ensure community use.

 

The Community Facilities Project Officer confirmed that due to the grant being over £50,000 there will be a formal agreement requiring them to show how the facility will be advertised and requiring their rates to be affordable. The Council has recourse to reclaim the grant if the Council wanted to enforce the requirements.

 

Members were supportive of the recommendation.

 

St Francis Sports & Social Club

 

The Community Facilities Project Officer presented the amended proposal for the St Francis Sports & Social Club which was a request to allow for a phased delivery of their project. She outlined that the Club are aiming to proceed with the swimming pool aspect of the project and will be looking at something more affordable for the remaining elements of the project. She added that the Club is keen for St Francis Rangers FC to take a central role in improvements to the playing pitches and will work with them to bring forward a scheme that is achievable and affordable.

 

The Chairman believed that the suggestions seem sensible.

 

The Vice-Chairman noted the aspirations of the Club and highlighted that it has always been an aspiration of the town to make the site a multi-sport and community facility. He stated that the Council needs to be satisfied that the money will be used for community benefit.

 

The Chairman stated that the proposal before the Panel is to address some of the Club’s aspirations and for that part of the development which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.