Report to	Bradford on Avon
Date of Meeting	13/05/2015
Title of Report	Community Area Grants

1. Purpose of the report:
To ask Councillors to consider the following applications seeking funding from the Bradford on Avon Area Board.

Application	Grant Amount
Applicant: West Wilts Esprit Gymnastics Club Project Title: West Wilts Gymnastics Additional Training Equipment	£1000.00
Applicant: Bradford on Avon Bowls Club Project Title: Bradford on Avon Bowls Club windows & door	£1594.20
Applicant: Bradford on Avon Bicycle Event Project Title: Bradford Cycling Festival	£2000.00
Applicant: Bradford on Avon & Melksham Health Partnership Project Title: Bradford on Avon Memory Club	£1000.00
Total grant amount requested at this meeting	£5594.2
Total amount allocated so far	£nil

2. Main Considerations

Councillors will need to be satisfied that grants awarded are made to projects that can realistically proceed within a year of the award being made. The capital budget for 2015/16 is £40, 675 and this is the first of six rounds of grant awards.

Area Boards have authority to approve Area Grants under powers delegated to them by the Cabinet member for Communities, Campuses, Area Boards, Leisure, Libraries and Flooding. Under the Scheme of Delegation Area Boards must adhere to the Area Board Grants Guidance 2015/2016.

Community Area Grants will contribute to the continuance and/or improvement of cultural, social and community activity and wellbeing in the community area, the extent and specifics of which will be dependent upon the individual project.

Community Area Grants give all local community and voluntary groups, Town and Parish Councils an equal opportunity to receive funding towards community based projects and schemes.

3. The applications

Applicant: West Wilts Esprit Gymnastics Club Project Title: West Wilts Gymnastics Additional Training Equipment	Amount Requested from Area Board: £1000.00
This application meets grant criteria 2015/16. Project Summary: West Wilts Gymnastics has now been in its new facility for six months and is really going strong. With our expanding numbers, particularly boys, we need to upgrade some of our equipment to provide better training opportunities to cater for our growing membership. We are now the only club in this part of Wiltshire with a dedicated Boys' section and we need better equipment to support their development and to help the Club to make a mark in Boys' Gymnastics in the County. The new equipment – training bar and pit, menss rings, matting - will also be accessible to all other members. Please tell us WHO will benefit and HOW they will benefit from your project and benefit your local community: Our fantastic facility benefits everyone in our main catchment area (Trowbridge, Westbury, Bradford-on-Avon and the surrounding villages) who wishes to become involved, or is already involved, in Gymnastics and fitness-related activity. We provide Gymnastics opportunities to participants aged 6 months and upwards and have waiting lists for a number of our classes. In the last year we have introduced a number of new Gymnastics-related activities such as Rhythmic, Boys, Parkour, Adults, Trampolining, Soft Play and Disability and we wish to expand this provision, so we need to upgrade our current equipment. It is also our goal to further reach under-represented sectors of the community such as boys 11 years+. We currently have a great opportunity to increase membership in this area as we are now the only Gymnastics facility in this part of Wiltshire with a dedicated Boys' section, and so we need to upgrade both the Boys' equipment and the general equipment to cope with this growth in membership. This current growth is also providing training and employment opportunities both for our current older teenage members and for new coaches. We are already developing a number of new coaches, and we hope to become a training facility and offer both voluntary and paid employment to 14 year-olds upwards who wish to become coaches and leaders. The growth in our membership, especially in boys, is providing the Club with ever more avenues to develop its profile and the number of people it positively affects in Wiltshire. Project Funding: Match funding for this project will come from sponsorship, fundraising and contributions from Trowbridge Area Board (£3,000) and Westbury Area Board (£1,000). Comments of Senior Sports Development Officer: From what I know of this club they are very pro-active and offer a very effective service to the community. They are clubmarked and as they have pointed out have taken on lots of new work strands in recent times. I would be inclined to support although interesting that they are applying across three area boards. I’d be interested to know if they can evidence how their work will particularly benefit residents of BOA. That said, not every town has a gymnastics club so I would expect that there are some residents of BOA who are members of the club. Maybe request that as part of the funding the club do some outreach work at the local schools or maybe have a presence at a relevant BOA event?
Applicant: Bradford on Avon Bowls Club Project Title: Bradford on Avon Bowls Club windows & door	Amount Requested from Area Board: £1594.20
This application meets grant criteria 2015/16. Project Summary: Replacement of six front windows and the front door of the Club House. The Club owns the Club House and has a programme for maintenance and upgrading its facilities. It invested in a new roof in 2000 and in 2008 refurbished the kitchen, bar & toilets. The Club needs to retain its reserves to fund the eventual replacement of the building which is now 50 years old. The windows are suitable to be put into a new building. Please tell us WHO will benefit and HOW they will benefit from your project and benefit your local community: People living in the greater Bradford on Avon area. The aims are to retain existing members, attract new members (both social & bowling members) and provide a welcoming facility to visitors and local families for their events. We aim to keep people actively involved in sport and socially integrated at modest prices. We run events for young people such as Scouts. The facility is available for public hire with equipment and instruction provided. The Club is a progressive modern club for Men, Ladies and Youth. It is a member of Bowls England and the Wiltshire Bowls Association. The club made a loss of £1298.52 in 2012 and a profit of £112.61 in 2013. The re-launch in 2014 has put the club into surplus through exceptional effort by its volunteer members. Project Funding: Match funding for this project will come from club reserves. Comments of Senior Sports Development Officer: Difficult for me to comment on this one as I have not seen the state of the existing windows and door. I do know that it is an old building. Not sure how updating these areas would increase membership but possibly would improve the experience for existing members. You could request that in return for funding they do something for you? Invite local residential homes to an open day? Deliver a junior session? I don’t believe they should just be given funding and not be required to do something in return.
Applicant: Bradford on Avon Bicycle Event Project Title: Bradford Cycling Festival	Amount Requested from Area Board: £2000.00
This application meets grant criteria 2015/16. Project Summary: Community Bicycle event weekend to include community activities, children playground events, Jumble sale, Treasure hunts, Cycle Cross, Film Show, Bike Repair Workshops, Moulton Bicycles Weekend, and culminating in a Sunday hill climb event organised through British Cycling. Please tell us WHO will benefit and HOW they will benefit from your project and benefit your local community: It is envisaged that the whole community will benefit from this event, and put the Town on the map as a 'Bicycle Town'. It will involve all age groups, attracting bike professionals and people who cycle purely for recreational pleasure and benefit of Health and Well being and people who just want to soak up the atmosphere of a grand event, 'piggy backing' off the same 'feel good' Tour of Britain event. Other activities planned are the Bike Jumble Sale, the Bike Treasure Hunt, the decorating of shops and hanging of bikes outside the shops will encourage interaction by the Town Commerce, in turn attraction residents and visitors to the Town. The event will 'dove tail' into the Arts and Festival week, to include Bike Art, Bike Art Competitions involving local schools. There will be a 'History of Bikes' and possible tour of Moulton House; bikes displays and Mountain Bike/racing and trax bike displays allowing visitors to experience stunt bike rides etc. Food Fairs and shops producing food in a 'bike theme'and general all day refreshments will further encourage visitors to stay all day which will in turn benefit the Town's economy. It is anticipated that this will become an Annual event which will encourage visitors to revisit the Town annually to attend the event at the same time the event will encourage use of bicycles instead of cars for short journeys which will reduce volume of traffic and improve air quality while promoting a healthy lifestyle. Project Funding: Match funding for this project will come from Bradford on Avon Town Council. Comments of Cycle Event Consultant: With the significantly increased popularity of cycling as a leisure activity and sport, Bradford on Avon are tapping into this heightened awareness of the bicycle as a means of transport and leisure activity by hoping to promote an aspirational event focusing on the many various aspects of cycling activity. This event is exactly what is needed not only locally but also regionally and dare I say it Nationally. A way of harnessing the energy of all the stakeholders and partners and as such providing an opportunity to encourage members of the community to undertake physical exercise by taking part in gentle cycling activity but at the same time catering for the more energetic and enthusiastic cyclists in the area in the form of competitive events. It is hoped that by promoting this weekend festival of cycling activity that a local cycling club may be formed in order to garner the enthusiasm and provide relevant pathways for locals to undertake further organised cycling activity. This can be governed by the National Governing body for cycling and also feed into a wider county cycling strategy
Applicant: Bradford on Avon & Melksham Health Partnership Project Title: Bradford on Avon Memory Club	Amount Requested from Area Board: £1000.00
This application meets grant criteria 2015/16. Project Summary:Bradford on Avon and surrounding villages have over 200 people registered with at the Health Centre with a diganosis of 'Dementia' and another 100 with 'memory problems'. There are around 150 people caring (exclusing Nursing/Demenita Residential Homes) for loved ones with memory problems. Although Alzheimer's Support provide a number of local schemes such as signing for the brain, there is no memory cafe/club in Bradford on Avon. People have to travel to Westbury or Melksham. The Health Centre, with the support of Alzheimer's Support wish to set up a monthly Memory Cafe at the Dog and Fox Public House in Ashley Road. A Memory Cafe/Club provides a place where any member of the GP Practice, who feel that they or a person they know may have a short term memory problem and can drop in without an appointment and talk to an experienced volunteer, have a cup of tea, enjoy activities for themselves and their service user. The Memory Cafe does not follow a medical model and is an opportunity to attend once a month in a safe environment, where people will not be judged and can relax in a friendly, but informative environment. The Cafe will be run on the first Thursday of every month and may run more frequently if there is sufficient interest. Please tell us WHO will benefit and HOW they will benefit from your project and benefit your local community: People with memory problems and their carers will benefit from a local venue once a month to attend to chat, find out relevant information about the condition and have an additional event to look forward to. This initiative is about bringing together groups of people for a common cause, the Memory Club will provide a very important addition to support services. Our first meeting is on May 7th at 3pm at the Dog and Fox - this is our first planning meeting and until we know who is going to attend and what service users want from the Club etc. we are unable to put a full programme together. We will be using the Carers Pathways framework along with the existing policies that our staff follow from being staff at The Health Centre. We will also set up Terms of Reference and a Constitution. Project Funding: Capital funding will pay for games, puzzles, memory boxes, creative arts materials, a music system and a pergola for outdoor sessions. The GP practice will cover the revenue funding costs of room hire, refreshments, marketing and publicity. Comments of Alzheimers Support: People living with dementia and their carers often experience social isolation and find it hard to access good quality information that would help them cope better with the condition. Memory cafes are a wonderful way to meet both these needs, offering a safe and friendly environment where friendships can be forged, and providing an invaluable opportunity to meet a range of professionals in an informal setting. Alzheimer’s Support has been involved in the planning of this initiative in Bradford on Avon and will send a staff member to each meeting. We would urge you to back this bid for funding.
Report Author: Peter Dunford, Bradford on Avon Area Board 01225 713060