Agenda and minutes

Franca Currall, Solicitor, welcomed everyone to the meeting and took a roll call of Members present and provided a virtual meeting explanation.

Councillor Hillier nominated Councillor Webster as Chairman of the Panel for the 2021/22 Council year. This was seconded by Councillor Belsey and with no further nominations put forward, this was agreed.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Webster be elected Chairman of the Panel for the 2021/22 Council Year.

The Chairman nominated Councillor Hillier as Vice-Chairman of the Panel for the 2021/22 Council year. This nomination was seconded by Councillor Belsey and with no further nominations put forward, this was agreed.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Hillier be appointed asVice-Chairman of the Panel for the 2021/22 Council year.

None as all Members were present.

No apologies were received as all Members were present.

Councillor Hillier declared a personal interest the facility grant from St Francis Social and Sports Club CIC as, whilst he is not a member of the club nor involved in the governance, he is a regular user and is sometimes involved in conversations with the leaders of the club about the project. He also declared a personal interest in the release of S106 contributions application from Sussex Clubs for Young People as their application is a partnership project with one of the main partners being the Bentswood Community Partnership which he chairs. He confirmed that there is no pecuniary interest but a very strong personal interest therefore he would remove himself from the discussion and voting on the item.

Councillor Belsey confirmed a personal interest in the Community and Economic Development Grant application from Age UK West Sussex, Brighton & Hove as he is the chairman of Age UK East Grinstead who sometimes have contracts with Age UK West Sussex. He confirmed that Age UK East Grinstead have had no involvement in nor would benefit from the application.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Grants Panel, held on 15 March 202 were approved as a correct record and electronically signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman had no urgent business.

No representations were received by Members or Officers.

Emma Sheridan, Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance, introduced the report which presented to the Cabinet Grants Panel 13 Community Grant applications. She noted where applications that have no award recommended, due to applications not meeting the criteria of the Community  Grants scheme, officers were providing ongoing assistance to organisations to seek other sources of grant funding. She drew attention to the application from Age UK West Sussex, Brighton & Hove which is significantly larger than most grants issued under the scheme however confirmed that it is linked to wider investment in the Keymer Brick and Tile development where the developer has provided the building but additional funding is required for fixtures and fittings.

The applications which were recommended for consideration by the Panel are set out below:

The Vice-Chairman enquired whether there are break options in the contract Burgess Hill Shed have with their landlord. He also felt pleased to see the application from Hassocks Baby Group come forward as during the pandemic parent and toddler baby groups have not functioned with parents not able to access essential peer to peer support.

The Chairman echoed the comments of the Vice-Chairman.

The Member expressed that he was happy to support the recommendations. He noted that there was a number of applications arising from the southern part of the District and not from the north and asked whether there was any particular reason for it. He referred to the application from Albion in the Community and queried whether they could organise events in the northern part of the District as many residents are fans of Brighton and Hove Albion F.C.

The Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance confirmed that in relation to the geographic spread, there was a comprehensive review over the last year which provided an indication of an equitable split across the three towns, the rural areas and the north and south of the District. She added that it seems particular to this meeting of the Panel that the majority of the applications arise from the south of the District. However, the split is generally even and officers would raise it with Members’ if they felt that applications where not coming from a particular area of the District or sector of the community. She also confirmed that she would talk to Albion in the Community  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Elaine Clarke, Community Facilities Project Officer, introduced the report which presented four requests for the release of S106 Contributions for consideration by the Cabinet Grants Panel and to provide clarification regarding the terms of the St Francis Sports and Social Club Stage 1 grant. She noted recommendations B to D of the report which arose from the previously agreed resolution not being sufficiently clear to proceed with the grant agreement, Therefore the recommendations are before the Panel to clarify these issues.

The applications which were recommended for consideration by the Panel are set out below:

The Member referred to the application from Scaynes Hill Millennium Village Centreto upgrade the existing air ventilation system with a purification unit and asked whether the Council should be looking to provide support to other centers to have the same systems put in place.

The Community Facilities Project Officer confirmed that the Council did write to all community buildings that have S106 receipts held for improvements to the building to invite them to apply for funding. She highlighted that the system is an upgrade to an existing system the applicant has, so other buildings may find it more difficult to implement. However other groups may become interested if they see the system working well.

The Chairman encouraged other property owners and land management organisations to look at their facilities and apply for grants for such systems whenever and wherever available.

The Vice-Chairman noted how hugely beneficial it would be to have the facility that the Mid Sussex District Scout Council is proposing in his ward. He thanked and congratulated the officers for working with partners to bring forward the application.

The Chairman believed that the project would be a real benefit for the community.

The Chairman took the Panel to vote on all applications, except from the application Sussex Clubs for Young People, and recommendations B to D.

Members were supportive of the applications and recommendations.

[The Vice-Chairman was removed from the voting and discussion at 16:28]

The Member believed that the community centre will be much needed and well received by the community of Haywards Heath.

The Chairman said that the report is full and explanatory with a history of many long hours of work. He congratulated the officers for their work.

The Chairman took the Panel to vote on all application from Sussex Clubs for Young People.

[The Vice-Chairman returned to the meeting at 16:29]

RESOLVED

The Cabinet Grants Panel agreed:

1. That £2,000 of S106 contributions be released to Scaynes Hill Millennium Village Centre to fund the upgrade of the existing air ventilation system with a purification unit to improve the facilities and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.