Agenda item

Councillors are reminded that they will need to declare any interest they may have in budget applications, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer will introduce budget applications that have been received. Applications received are summarised below:

Application 1 -  The Saftas - Saffron Community Health Alliance

£1,330

The Health Alliance wish to organise a community event to celebrate volunteering in the Freemen ward area.  The event shall be named the Safta’s and will be held in February 2011 at a suitable venue in the Freeman ward. Nomination forms will be distributed throughout the Saffron area via ‘Keeping Saffron Posted’.  To recognise the time, energy and hard work that volunteers in Saffron give to the area free of charge.

Last year Inspector Richard Toone awarded over 100 local community members with a trophy at the Safta’s and we hope that he will attend again this year.

The funding will pay for nomination forms to be distributed throughout Saffron in the ‘Keeping Saffron Posted’ project and the forms will be available in all public buildings.  The fund will also pay for the paper & printing of Certificates and a buffet dinner on the evening and entertainment & photographer.

Application 2 – Goldhill Adventure Playground Sports Project (GAP)

£250 – with remaining £250 requested from Eyres Monsell Ward

The project is aimed at providing young people (13+ year olds) sports equipment to utilise in a safe and friendly environment. This is to take place at Goldhill Adventure Playground in a supervised setting, to ensure that the young people are safe and free to socialise with other young people of their own age while engaging in physical activities.

The project is needed to ensure that options are available for young people to utilise the provided facilities in the supervised setting. A lack of such activities would mean that young people are not being engaged and as such will seek their own alternatives in an unsafe environment such as the streets or gardens where they may be likely to cause damage to property or be a nuisance to others.

Application 3 – Community Engagement – Saffron Arts Forum – Community Newsletter

£900

We want to make sure that every household on the Freemen ward is made aware of local relevant information. We do this by designing, interviewing, writing, printing and distributing The SAFF, which is a new magazine project that has proved very successful in its 1^st and 2^nd issues.

We have found from feedback that local people are keen to hear local news in this way. We want a section of the magazine to highlight what the Freemen Ward Meetings are about as well as try to encourage more involvement from the community, as well as highlighting, advertising and reporting on projects that the Ward Meetings have supported throughout the year raising the positive profile of the Freemen Ward and community for a year.

This magazine reaches every household on the Freemen ward (3000) every other month. The key to this project is community engagement and making residents aware of what’s going on in their local community.

Application 4 - Welford Road Local Policing Unit, Neighbourhood Action Team - Plain vehicle

£750

In early 2010 the Ward Committees of Aylestone, Eyres Monsell, Freemen and Knighton funded the provision of a plain vehicle (rental) for use by the Neighbourhood Action Team in performing its duties and functions as outlined in the ward presentations. Further funding was also obtained from the local Joint Action Group and this enabled the team to have use of a vehicle throughout most of 2010.

This application is to obtain funding to continue the provision of the plain vehicle throughout 2011.

The following budget applications were presented to the Community Meeting;

Welford Road Local Policing Unit, Neighbourhood Action Team Plain Vehicle

Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer informed the Community Meeting that this budget application had been withdrawn.

Goldhill Adventure Playground Sports Project

A funding application for £250 had been received from the Goldhill Adventure Playground (GAP) for a table tennis table and assorted bats and balls to enable young people to play sports in a safe and friendly environment.  A further identical funding application had also been submitted to the Eyres Monsell Community Meeting. A resident praised the playground and stated that it was an important new resource for the area. He added that a considerable amount of the funding for GAP had come from external sources and that play workers had worked very hard on the project.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application for £250 for the Goldhill Adventure Playground Sports Project be supported.

Community Engagement

A representative from the Saffron Arts Forum explained that a funding application for £900 had been submitted for the production and distribution of The SAFF, a new community magazine project.  The magazine would help inform residents as to what was happening in their area and meetings, such as the Freeman Community Meeting would be publicised. The meeting was informed that every household in the Freeman Ward would receive the magazine, but this was later corrected to refer to houses in the Saffron Lane Estate.

Jerry expressed concern that the previous issue of The SAFF had contained an article that may have been construed as political, and as City Council funding was sought, it may be appropriate to have the magazine reviewed or edited before it went to print. There was some discussion over this issue as some members of the public expressed concern that this would in effect result in the community magazine being censored. The representative from Saffron Arts Forum commented that she had been aware that due to an oversight, an article that might be considered as political had been included in the magazine. Concern was also expressed from a resident that Community Meeting funding had already previously been given to a project that was for the benefit of the Saffron Lane Estate.

After some discussion it was suggested that Jerry should have further discussions with the Forum and that £300 for 2 issues should be supported in the meantime, with consultations to take place with Jerry on editorial guidelines.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application to the value of £300 (for 2 issues of The SAFF) be supported and that there should be consultation with Jerry Connolly on editorial guidelines.

The Safta’s

A funding application for £1330 from the Saffron Community Health Alliance, had been submitted to organise a community event to celebrate volunteering in the Freeman Ward area.  The Safta’s would be held in a suitable venue in the Freeman Ward in February 2011 and would recognise the time, energy and hard work that volunteers gave to the area free of charge.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application for £1330 for the Safta’s be supported.