Agenda item

Funding Applications

Meeting of Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board, Wednesday 13 March 2024 6.30 pm (Item 31.)

To note the remaining budgets and to consider any applications for funding, as detailed in the attached report and summarised below:

Area Board Initiatives:

ABG1681 - Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Youth Forum requesting £500 towards the Royal Wootton Bassett Youth Festival Showcase 2024.

Community Area Grants:

ABG1634 - Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association requesting £4,150 towards Vale View Gardens Community Park.

ABG1643 – Broad Town School Association requesting £1,475 towards an interactive whiteboard for Broad Town Primary School.

ABG1660 – Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival £500 towards a laptop for registration/admin.

ABG1673 – Royal Wootton Bassett Carnival requesting £1,500.

Older & Vulnerable Grants:

ABG1615 - Parkinsons UK Jane Henderson Local Volunteer Officer South West requesting £500 towards Parkinsons CCF Café 2024.

ABG1641 - Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association requesting £500 towards Vale View Gardens Community Park.

ABG1649 – Wiltshire Music Centre requesting £500 towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire Creative Mini Project in Royal Wootton Bassett Library.

ABG1663 - Purton Community Fridge and Larder requesting £500 Purton Community Fridge Free Meal.

ABG1686 – Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club requesting £450 towards walking rugby.

Young People Grants:

ABG1592 - Cricklade and District Community Association requesting £1,500 towards a teen gym at Cricklade Leisure Centre

ABG1664 – The Rise Trust Youth requesting £720 towards Lyneham detached youth work.

ABG1679 – Broad Hinton Youth Club requesting £950.

ABG1683 – Royal Wootton Bassett Volleyball Club requesting £642 towards a development pathway.

ABG1711 – Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council requesting £5,000 towards the youth festival and ongoing provision.

Further information on the Area Board Grant system can be found here.

Minutes:

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager explained that there was insufficient funding remaining in both the Community Area Grant and Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant budgets to award all of the applications to those pots in full.

There was £2,239.26 of Community Area Grant Funding available, £13,750 of Youth Grant funding and £950 of Older and Vulnerable People’s funding remaining. It was noted that it might be possible for applications to one pot to draw upon funding from a different pot, but only if they met the relevant criteria.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager also reported that the following two applications had been withdrawn since the publication of the agenda:

· Broad Town School Association requesting £1,475 towards an interactive whiteboard for Broad Town Primary School (Community Area Grant).

· Purton Community Fridge and Larder requesting £500 Purton Community Fridge Free Meal (Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant).

Area Board Initiative

The Area Board considered the following Area Board Initiative:

Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Youth Forum Requesting £500 Towards the Royal Wootton Bassett Youth Festival Showcase 2024

On the proposal of Cllr Steve Bucknell, seconded by Cllr David Bowler, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To award Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Youth Forum £500 towards the Royal Wootton Bassett Youth Festival Showcase 2024.

Reason: The application met the Youth Grant Criteria 2023/24.

Community Area Grants

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Community Area Grant Scheme 2023/24. As there was insufficient funding remaining in the Community Area Grant budget to award all of the applications in full, the Chairman invited each of the applicants to introduce their projects before the Area Board voted on any of the applications.

Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association requesting £4,150 Towards Vale View Gardens Community Park

Andy Carr and Nicki Harris spoke in favour of their application. They confirmed that young people between the age of 13 and 19 (or 25 with Special Educational needs) would benefit. It was noted that Horizons College, a specialist facility for Young People between the ages of 16 and 25 with additional needs, was a stakeholder in the project.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships manager clarified that the project would be eligible for Youth Grant funding. It would not be possible to draw on funding from the 2024/25 financial year. It was also highlighted that there was a separate application to the Older and Vulnerable People’s budget of £500 to support Vale View Gardens, so it was a multi-generational project.

As the Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association had also requested £500 from the Older and Vulnerable People’s budget and there was limited funding available in the Community Area Grant Budget, this application was voted on alongside their other application. The Area Board indicated that they were happy in principle to support the application for £4,150 but waited to consider the other applications first.

Please see their application in the Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant applications section for details of the vote.

Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival Requesting £500 Towards a Laptop for Registration/Admin

Jackie Lawrence from the Arts Festival explained that the laptop would speed up registration and allow them to publicise the event online.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager clarified that the project would be eligible for Youth funding, as well as Community Area Grant funding, as a large proportion of Young People were taking part.

On the proposal of Cllr Jacqui Lay, seconded by Cllr Bowler, it was resolved:

Decision

To award Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival £500 towards a laptop for registration/admin.

Reason: The funding would come from the Youth Grant budget. There was limited funding available in the Community Area Grant budget and the application met the Youth Grant Criteria 2023/24.

Royal Wootton Bassett Carnival Requesting £1,500

It was explained that the police had raised concerns about the poor radio signal for staff to communicate with each other at the event the previous year. The organisers were looking for funding for new radios for this year’s event. In response to questions, the organisers confirmed that they would be happy to loan out the radios to other community groups planning to hold large scale events in the Area Board’s area.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager confirmed that the application would be eligible for Youth Grant funding given the high proportion of 13–19-year-olds (or 25 with SEND) attending the event.

Cllr Steve Bucknell, seconded by Cllr Lay, proposed that Royal Wotton Bassett Carnival be awarded £1,500 towards radios.

During the debate, an amendment was proposed by the Chairman, that the awarding of the grant be subject to the radios being publicly available to lend out for other events held in the Area Board’s area. This amendment was accepted by the proposer and seconder, so added to the substantive motion. At the conclusion of the debate, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To award Royal Wootton Bassett Carnival £1,500 towards new radios on the condition that they be made publicly available for other events in the Area Board’s area.

Reason: The application met the Youth Grant Criteria 2023/24. There was limited Community Area Grant funding available. The microphones would be available to loan to ensure that a range of local community groups could benefit.

Older and Vulnerable People’s Grants

The Area Board considered the following applications to the Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant Scheme 2023/24.

Parkinson’s UK Cricklade and Royal Wootton Bassett Requesting £500 Towards Parkinson’s Carers and Cared for Café 2024

Vincent Mobey explained that they held quarterly meetings and that their sessions were well attended with between 40 and 60 people. They supported people with Parkinson’s as well as the people caring for them. The sessions cost around £100 to put on each and £100 would be used to help with transport for people with mobility issues.

Cllr Lay noted that there was a bookable bus with disabled access in the Marlborough and Pewsey areas called Connet2.

The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager confirmed that it would not be possible to draw upon funds from the 2024/25 financial year. He noted that it was possible to award grants between meetings of up to £1,000 in cases of urgency.

On the proposal of Cllr Lay, seconded by Cllr Steve Bucknell, it was resolved:

Decision

To award Parkinson’s UK Cricklade and Royal Wootton Bassett £500 towards Parkinson’s Carers and Cared for Café 2024

Reason: The application met the Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant Criteria 2023/24.

Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association Requesting £500 Towards Vale View Gardens Community Park

As a result of the budgetary constraints facing the Area Board they debated and voted on this application after first voting on all of the other applications. The Area Board had received information about the Vale View Gardens Community Park as part of the Community Area Grant application. Having voted on the other applications, there was £2,239.26 of funding remaining in the Community Area Grant fund and £2,438 remaining in the Youth Grant budget. The Older and Vulnerable People’s budget had been fully spent.

It was noted that the combined value of the two applications being requested to go towards the Vale View Gardens Community Park was £4,650. The Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager confirmed that given that the project would support Young People, and was a capital project, there was funding available to support both applications in full.

On the proposal of Cllr Steve Bucknell, seconded by Cllr Bowler, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To award Wootton Bassett Infants School Parent Teacher Association £4,650 towards Vale View Gardens Community Park.

Reason: The application met the Community Area Grant Criteria and Youth Grant criteria for 2023/24. There was no Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant funding remaining for 2023/24.

Wiltshire Music Centre requesting £500 Towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire Creative Mini Project in Royal Wootton Bassett Library

Rebecca Seymour from Wiltshire Music Centre explained that the funding would be used to support Older and Vulnerable People by running four sessions of a shared reading library group. Given the limited funding available in the Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant budget, it was asked whether it would be possible to postpone the project until the next financial year. The applicant noted that they were also planning to apply for a grant application in the forthcoming financial year, so sought assurance that it would be possible to apply for two projects in 2024/25. It was confirmed that it would be possible to apply for two applications in the same financial year. After receiving this assurance, the applicant confirmed that they would be content to postpone consideration of their application given that the funding was not required imminently.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Lay, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To defer the application from Wiltshire Music Centre requesting £500 towards Celebrating Age Wiltshire Creative Mini Project in Royal Wootton Bassett Library.

Reason: There was insufficient funding in the Older and Vulnerable People’s budget to support all of the applications in full during 2023/24. The funding was not required before the end of the current financial year and the applicant would be able to reapply for funding in 2024/25.

Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club Requesting £450 Towards Walking Rugby

Mr Steve Bucknell spoke as a member of the public in support of the application. He explained that the games would help people unable to play running rugby, to participate. He noted that the club had players in their 70s that were able to take part in these activities.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Bowler, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To award Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club £450 towards Walking Rugby.

Reason: The application met Older and Vulnerable People’s Grant criteria for 2023/24.

Youth Grants

Cricklade and District Community Association requesting £1,500 Towards a Teen Gym at Cricklade Leisure Centre

Angela Jensen from Cricklade Town Council spoke in favour of their application. It was confirmed that staff would be able to offer an induction as part of the town’s youth festival.

On the proposal of the Chairman, seconded by Cllr Bowler, it was resolved to make the:

Decision

To award Cricklade and District Community Association £1,500 towards a teen gym at Cricklade Leisure Centre.