Agenda item

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

Kate Owen, Members Support Officer, will give an update on the Community Meeting Budget. The following applications have been received:

• Leicester Castle Park Heritage and Arts Festival – Appendix B1
• Thirlmere Gardens New Pedestrian Access Gate and Pathway – Appendix B2
• Community Allotment Project – Appendix B3
• Integration Through Sports – Appendix B4
• Safer Routes – Appendix B5

Kate Owen, Member Support Officer presented the Community Meeting Budget, explained that five budget applications had been received and these were as follows:

1.      Leicester City Council Festivals and Events Team requested £2,000 from the Ward Community Fund for the Leicester Castle Park Heritage and Arts Festival. The application form for this bid was attached at Appendix B on the agenda. 

Residents questioned why a section of the Council were applying to the Committee for funding and stated that this money may be needed for local projects. It was further suggested that the Terms of Reference for the Community Meeting should be changed so that such bids could not be considered in the future.

Councillor Kitterick explained that the funding would enhance the event by providing additional activities and that there was a considerable amount of community involvement in this festival. Councillor Kitterick added that the Community Meeting and old Area Committee budgets had never been spent in full and that Members welcomed further bids from community groups who might benefit from Community Meeting funding. 

RESOLVED:

that it be agreed that the funding application be supported to the value of £2,000.

2.      Parks Services and St Andrews Play Association requested £1,213.41 from the Community Fund to provide a new pedestrian access gate and a pathway at the main vehicular entrance to Thirlmere Gardens. The application form for this bid was attached at Appendix B2 on the agenda.

RESOLVED:

that it be agreed that the funding application be supported to the value of £1213.41.

3.      The St Andrews Tenants and Residents Association, De Montfort University and Groundwork submitted a joint funding application to request £1321 from the Community Fund for a Community Allotment Project.  The funding application for this bid was attached at Appendix B3 on the agenda.

Kate explained that the total bid was for £3963 and had been split between three Wards, the other two being Westcotes and Braunstone Park/Rowley Fields Wards.

RESOLVED:

that it be agreed that the funding application be supported to the value of £1,321.

4.      Kate explained that a funding application for a summer multi-cultural cricket camp, which was attached at Appendix B4 on the agenda, had been withdrawn as the applicant had been encouraged to apply for Corporate funding.

5.      The Hinckley Road Joint Action Group had requested £576 from the Castle Community Cohesion Fund for “Respect Your Neighbourhood” signage:  ‘Safer routes for students’. The application form for this bid was attached in Appendix B5 on the agenda.

Kate explained that this was a joint project and the total cost of the bid was £3468, but £576 was requested from the Castle Ward Community Meeting.

RESOLVED:

that the funding application be supported to the value of £576.

A resident questioned the community meeting budget process and Kate explained that:

• Each Ward had been allocated £17,000
• This money was split into three categories:

a. Ward Action Plan £10,000

b. Community Fund£5,000

c. Community Cohesion£2,000

• There was a Ward Action Plan in process. Residents had been asked to give their views of their most important concerns and issues in Castle Ward and from this an Action Plan had been written. Funding bids to this budget needed to be relevant to the priorities identified in the action plan.

• Bids to the community fund needed to benefit people who lived in the Ward.

• Bids to the Community Cohesion fund needed to address community cohesion issues within the Ward.

Residents questioned why the money didn’t go towards funding a nursing home or to fund a youth club.

Councillor Kitterick explained that funding for the above items was allocated from the main council budget and the £17,000 budget was for small projects that may not receive funding from the mainstream budget.