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.
The following budget applications will be considered:-
Application 1
Applicant: Essential rejuvenation dance sport & fitness
Amount: £1,352
Proposal: To promote and encourage community cohesion amongst Leicester’s young people through dance and drama sessions.
Summary: The funding would be used towards coaches, equipment and room hire, with a Finale at the end of all the projects.
Approved under the fast-track process:
1. Beaumont Leys Library
Amount: £500
Proposal: Funding towards publicising the Health and Wellbeing event in Beaumont Leys on October 1st 2011, and pay for alternative therapy practitioners.
Targeting local schools, children’s centre and community centres, the event is to promote active leisure time, health and wellbeing, and community safety, and raise awareness of all the services provided by the partners involved.
Minutes:
Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer introduced the budget requests which had been submitted to the Committee.
Application 1 – Essensual Rejuvenation Dance, Sport and Fitness
Mandy Shepherd was in attendance at the meeting and spoke in support of the application for funding to cover the cost of coaches, equipment, room hire and a finale at the end of the programme.
- There was great demand for the dance and drama sessions.
- However, there were many young people who couldn’t access the sessions due to the costs involved.
- The funding would enable the sessions to be put on for six months, during which time efforts would be made to make the project financially sustainable.
There were some comments from residents during the discussion on this item.
- There seemed to be a large number of applications for young people and none for older people. It was however noted that there was a lack of older people’s organisations in the ward who would normally lead on applying for funding.
- The ‘Somewheretogo EM’ project could assist with finding venues free of charge for young people’s activities.
- The Council should provide somewhere free for the project. It was however noted that this was part of a wider debate.
- There was general support for the application and the cross generational aspects were supported in particular.
RECOMMENDED:
That the application be supported and £1,352 be allocated, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Member for Health and Community Involvement.
Application 2 – Leicestershire Police – Beaumont Leys Beat Team
Sergeant Rich Jackson presented an application which requested £1035 funding in support of a joint proposal between the Police and the Fire Service to provide a shop unit at the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre over the Christmas period. Advice and support will be available at the unit as well as free crime prevention measures for local people on production of a utility bill.
The following comments were made in relation to this application:-
- Information on other areas such as drug / alcohol / domestic violence support should be made available at the unit.
- A similar application should be made to the Abbey Ward for funding, if not this year, then certainly next year.
- The unit should be publicised in the ‘One Neighbourhood’ magazine.
RECOMMENDED:
That the application be supported and £1,035 be allocated, subject to final approval from the Cabinet Member for Health and Community Involvement.
Application 3 – Leicestershire Police – Community Speedgun
Sergeant Rich Jackson introduced an application for £500 towards the cost of Community Speedgun, to address problems related to speeding drivers as identified in Police surveys. This was a shared application for a number of areas in the North West of the city.
RECOMMENDED:
That the application be deferred to be considered in more detail by local Councillors.
Application 4 – Leicester Speedway Limited
An application was received from Leicester Speedway Limited, for £1,102.98 to request funding to support a proposed outreach programme to engage young people in the area as a way of combatting the problems associated with the illegal use of motorcycles in the ward. The funding was to provide clothing and safety equipment for the use on motorbikes.
The Councillors agreed that this was a positive project, but felt that more discussions were needed between the Council, including the Youth Servce, the Speedway Club and the Police to determine the most appropriate way forward for joint working on the project.
There was a suggestion that the project could prioritise young people who have shown to give positively to the local area.
RECOMMENDED:
That the application for £1,102.98 be supported in principle, subject to further discussions between the Council / Police and the Speedway club to ensure the most satisfactory joint working arrangements.
Matters Approved Under the Fast Track Procedure
The following budget request was included on the agenda for formally noting as it had been agreed by Councillors in between meetings to enable the project to take place.
Beaumont Leys Library – Health and Wellbeing Event - £500.
RESOLVED:
that the previously agreed funding be noted.