Agenda item

To ask Councillors will consider threeapplications seeking 2010/2011 Community Area Grant Funding:

·        Melksham Tennis Club have applied for a grant of £1095 towards the installation of floodlights on the two all weather courts at Melksham Tennis Club.  The recommendation is to award the funding.

·        Happy Circle Day Centre have applied for £985 for a series of trips and activities for day centre members (older people living independently). The recommendation is to award the funding.

·        Melksham Town Council have applied for a grant of £1447 to promote and market the new cinema offering within Melksham Assembly Hall. The recommendation is to award the funding.

Performance Reward Grant Scheme

• Application from Wiltshire Volunteer Centre -  £55,694

• Application from TransWilts Rail - £25,000

• Feedback from Semington Football Club – awarded £24,000 in 2010.

Community Area Grant Scheme

The Wiltshire Councillors considered three applications to the Community Area Grants Scheme 2010/11, as follows:

Melksham Tennis Club awarded £1095 towards the installation of floodlights on the two all weather courts at Melksham Tennis Club. 

Note: This grant was awarded subject to planning to a planning application being granted.

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan.

Happy Circle Day Centre awarded £985 for a series of trips and activities for day centre members (older people living independently).

Reason

The above application met the Community Area Grant criteria for 2010/11 and demonstrates a link to the Melksham community plan.

Note

Cllrs Eaton and Hubbard leave the room.

Melksham Town Council applied for £ £1447 to promote and market the new cinema offering within Melksham Assembly Hall. They were awarded £500 by the Area Board to support the advertising costs of this venture.

Reason

The Area Board members agreed that £500 was sufficient to support the advertising costs of this application.

Performance Reward Grant Scheme

The Wiltshire Councillors considered two bids to the Performance Reward Grant Scheme, as follows:

Note

Cllr Eaton was out of the room and did not vote on this application.

The new Wiltshire Infrastructure Support Service – ‘GROW’

Enhancing Community Support includes a countywide Volunteer Service for Wiltshire for the first time.  This application, if approved, would both build on the basic service and develop an accredited volunteer centre for Wiltshire. At present the nearest accredited centre is in Swindon.  The proposed service would offer the six core functions of a Volunteer Centre as prescribed by Volunteering England. The benefits to all community areas in Wiltshire will include better access to volunteering opportunities and support to individuals, Employer Volunteering scheme, specialised support, information and good practice services, access to draw down further funding via Volunteering England to support volunteering, and access to support and information as part of a national framework. 

Decision

·        The Melksham Area Board supports the “Grow” application.

Cllr Eaton now back in the room.

TransWilts Rail

Presentation by Paul Johnson (Chairman, Knorr-Bremse and Chairman, Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce Transport Policy Group).

Who requested that the Area Board support a grant of £20,000 for an additional strategic rail service across Wiltshire.

The provision of an appropriate additional rail service linking the major towns of Wiltshire (Salisbury - Warminster - Westbury - Trowbridge - Melksham - Chippenham and on to Swindon) would provide a major economic stimulus for the towns along the route, connecting the communities to each other by fast public transport and relieving road pressures, and also providing better links into and out of the area, and through the new proposed LEP region with Swindon up to Gloucester and Cheltenham.

This application has significant support from the business community illustrated by the proactive involvement of Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce. 

Decision

·        The Melksham Area Board supports the TransWilts Rail application.

Feedback from Semington Football Club who were awarded£24,000 in 2010.

Kevin Lockwood thanked the Area Board for endorsing the application, he then advised that everything was now in place for Semington football club to begin using the site and its facilities from September 2011.