To hear expressions of interest from groups and clubs from throughout the area for the funding of youth projects.
Minutes:
Cllr Smale invited expressions of interest from youth groups and clubs for the funding of youth projects.
The following expressions were received
· Langfords Youth Group – new portacabin
Langfords Youth Group is a voluntary funded group who were looking for funding to assist in their fundraising for portacabins. These are to be placed on the sports field at Steeple Langford, giving young people of between the ages of 8-16 years old a dedicated place to go.
· Bourne Valley new explorer scouts group
With 15 young people reaching the age of 14 in the next two years the scout group were looking to set up an explorer scout group to cater for children aged 14-18, and asked for £500 towards the hall costs for the first 3-4 weeks.
· Air Training Crops
The Air Training Crops covered a large area including Amesbury, Durrington, Tidworth, Bulford and Upavon. Transport was their biggest issue and they asked for £500 towards the purchase of a minibus.
· Porton Football Club
Porton Football Club is a thiriving club that runs a range of teams between the ages of 8 through to under 14’s. Currently they have 5 -6 teams moving through the leagues. They operate a pay as you play system and currently the FA1 /2 coaching badges are funded by parents, demonstrating their commitment. They are looking to structure the club and they asked for funding to assist them in their goals of providing support for the training of managers, creating a stronger team identity through kit and winter wear, investing in more sustainable equipment and providing cafe equipment to give them the chance to produce their own revenue scheme.
· Girl Guides Association
The guides are looking for funding to enable them to invest in camping equipment. This equipment would be shared by all guide groups in the south of Wiltshire.
· Durrington Otters
The Durrington Otters highlighted the success of their sessions at Sportsfest, and asked for funding to allow them to offer similar sessions throughout the school holidays.
A further expression was received from the Amesbury School Cluster asking for funding towards the costs of providing a counselling service to the 7 schools in the Amesbury cluster in 2013/14. A grant application had been received for this and the request would be considered under the Community Area Grants item later in the meeting.
During the table exercise that followed the following points were noted:
· There was a need for more leaders to facilitate better communication with communities, especially dedicated youth leaders
· There was a lack of youth clubs in the Bourne Valley area
· Communication could be improved between schools and local governing groups over upcoming events
· Youth groups could communicate better with parent over their longer term plans
· There needed to be better access to funding and a clearer understanding of what funding is available
· Help should be offered in writing bids
· The use of tourism to promote the local economy should be explored
· Networking and awareness needed to improve, e.g. making people aware of the resources available like minibuses etc.
Items suggested for discussion at future Area Board meetings were:
· The super-garrison and to worry over its impact
· Working with adjoining Area Boards, e.g. Avon Valley
· Speedwatch
· Good Neighbours
The Chairman noted how successful the session had been and explained that all bids would be assessed over the coming weeks and confirmation would be given as soon as possible as to their success.
Decision
The Board agreed to delegate the decisions on funding to the Community Area Manager in consultation with the Chair and Cllr John Noeken and for feedback to be brought to the next Board meeting.