Report by Director of Communities & Housing Services.
3
There was submitted a report by the Director of Communities & Housing Services relative to the Greenspaces, Parks & Play Areas and Villages Investment Fund.
The report indicated that the key objective in allocating funding was to work with, and support, community groups to identify and deliver improvement projects in their local communities, improve their local greenspaces, including parks and play areas, and strengthen the identity, heritage, uniqueness and character of village life. An update on progress made in terms of supporting community projects through the Greenspaces, Parks & Play Areas and Villages Investment Fund, detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, projects approved, in terms of delegated authority, by the Director of Communities & Housing Services during the previous three-month period together with work undertaken by the Building Communities service to support active and engaged communities. It was highlighted that as the programme had developed it had become evident that a number of projects had either completed without requiring the full grant allocation or had encountered difficulties in developing their project fully in the way that they originally anticipated. In order to ensure that funding was available for projects that could be implemented, a review of successful applicants, whose funds had not yet been released had been undertaken and applicants contacted to ascertain the status of their project. This had resulted, to date, in a return of £12,000 to the Villages Investment Fund and £5,000 to the Green Spaces Fund. Details of the projects involved were provided. As the Green Spaces Fund was almost fully committed, it was proposed that 50% of the allocated funding ringfenced for school projects be returned into the wider Fund. It was noted that only three schools, to date, had expressed an interest in applying for funding. In addition, it was proposed that smaller, grass roots community projects be prioritised over larger applications and that areas who had, to date, benefitted less from the fund, be favoured if bidding in competition with a community who had benefitted significantly in previous funding applications. Taking account of the projects approved in terms of delegated authority during the previous three-month period and all other projects awarded funding to date, £30,000 was currently unallocated in the Villages Investment Fund and £55,000 in the Green Spaces Fund.
DECIDED:
(a) That the work currently being undertaken to support communities as they developed and delivered projects to be funded using the Greenspaces, Parks & Play Areas and Villages Investment Fund be noted;
(b) That the impact of the funding and the benefits to the wider communities delivered by the projects, as set out in section 4 of the report, be noted;
(c) That the return of unspent grant awards by Pachedu and Bishopton Community Development Trust, £5,000 to the Green Spaces Fund, and £12,000 to the Villages Investment Fund respectively, be noted;
(d) That the prioritisation of awards to communities who had benefitted less from previous grant awards be approved; and
(e) That a 50% reduction of the ringfenced school fund be agreed to boost available Green Spaces funding for smaller projects.