Agenda item

To receive an update on youth activities and consider any applications for youth grants.

Remaining Budget:

Young People Grants:

Please see the grant report under agenda item 14 for further details.

The Board noted the Youth grant budget allocation for 2024/25 as £22,414.

Lead member for Youth, Cllr Mark Verbinnen gave an update which included:

• The first youth engagement event had been held in Durrington, with thanks to all involved.
• The next LYN meeting was due to be held on 18 July 2024 – in the Bulford Scout Group – any youth group or clubs were welcome to attend to take part in discussions..

Youth Grants:

Army Welfare Service Community Support Larkhill, Youth Project, requested £2495.08.

The Applicant spoke in support of the project.

Cllr Verbinnen moved the motion to award in full.

This was seconded by Cllr Yuill.

Resolved

Army Welfare Service Community Support Larkhill was awarded £2495.08 towards the youth project.

Reason – The application met the Community Area Grants Criteria 2024/25

Buzz Action Foundation CIO, Amesbury Youth Café, requested £5000

The Applicant spoke in support of the project, noting his disappointment that there had not been a LYN meeting in advance of the Area Board meeting to consider the applications on this occasion.

Questions:

The project appeared to be centrally focused on Amesbury, whereas the Stonehenge Community Area was much wider and included areas such as the Till Valley. Where was the youth offer for those areas?

How did the Board know whether the whole award would go towards the young people in the Stonehenge Community Area, when your provision of activities includes several other Community Areas?

Answer: The local school in Woodford benefitted from us in March.  The events listed were beneficial to the young people in Amesbury, and we took them to the events. None of the money awarded by this Board goes to projects in other community areas or parishes. The Landford youth club was paid for by Southern Wiltshire Area Board. I agree that the whole community area should be provided for and we do regularly provide activities around the community area.

The Board noted that most applications were one off or as start-up costs, the Area Board must consider how to best distribute its limited funding across the whole community area, to an array of applicants. It did not wish to keep awarding the same applicants year on year.

The Strategic Engagement and |Partnership Manager explained that the criteria did allow for applicants to apply in consecutive years, providing the criteria was met and that it was for the Area Board to decide how to allocate the funding in line with the Funding Criteria.

The Board confirmed that on this occasion, as this was the first meeting of the financial year, it would not be supporting the application for £5000 of the Youth budget, so to enable funding to be available for a wider range of projects throughout the rest of the year. 

Cllr Yuill moved the motion to refuse the application.

This was seconded by Cllr Daley.

Resolved

The application from Buzz Action Foundation CIO was Refused.

Reason – The Applicant had previously received funding for multiple projects and the Area Board wish to retain its funding for distribution throughout the remainder of the year to a wider selection of applicants. 

Wiltshire Schools Athletics Association, purchase of Kit, requested £1250

The Board was advised by the Strategic Engagement and Partnership Manager that this application did not meet the Funding Criteria, and therefore the applicant had been advised that it would be withdrawn from consideration. The Strategic Engagement and Partnership Manager would enquire about possible alternative funding routes for the project. Cllr Graham Wright and Cllr Verbinnen were supportive of this.

Resolved

The Application by Wiltshire Schools Athletics Association, was withdrawn.

Reason – The application did not meet the Grants Criteria 2024/25