Agenda item

To receive and consider report 17/06 of the Strategic Director. 

(CouncillorDerek Verdin and Councillor Jenny Hannaby both declared personal and prejudicial interests in the application for a grant from the Wantage, Grove and District Twinning Association and in accordance with Standing Order 34, they left the meeting during its consideration.  CouncillorHannaby also declared a personal interest in the application from the Camel Pre-School and in accordance with Standing Order 34, she remained in the meeting during its consideration.  CouncillorHannaby also declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the application from the Wantage Nursing Home Charitable Trust and left the meeting during its consideration.  CouncillorJoyce Hutchinson declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the application from the Camel Pre-School and left the meeting during its consideration.  Councillor Margaret Turner declared personal interests in an application from the Harwell Parochial Charities and from the owners of a property called The Dell in Harwell.  She remained in the meeting during their consideration.  Finally, CouncillorTerry Fraser declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the application from the Hendreds Twinning Group and left the meeting during its consideration.) 

The Committee received and considered report 17/06 of the Strategic Director, which set out details of six applications for community grants.  The budget available to the Committee in 2006/07 was £29,273.88. 

The report set out detail of two twinning partnership grants payable under service level agreements.  Both Wantage, Grove and District Twinning Association and the Hendreds Twinning Group had to provide sufficient information to allow the grants to be paid.  It was noted that sufficient further information had now been provided and therefore the Committee considered that the grants could be paid as set out in the report.  Members asked that a list of service level agreements affecting the South East Area Committee's budget should be submitted to the next meeting.  It was noted that the only agreements committing sums from the Committee's budget were these two twinning partnerships.

The Committee then considered the community grants applications.  The urgent item, a grant application from the Wantage Nursing Home Charitable Trust, was also considered.  Members were aware of the need to bear in mind the limited budget resources to allocate to grant applicants.  Although Members wished to allocate higher grant awards, the budget for the year would not allow it. 

Members considered that the Committee's stance regarding applications from owners of historic buildings, adopted last year, should be continued for a further year due to the limited budget available.  The Committee would consider support for the preservation of listed historic buildings that were privately owned (outside the areas of the Wantage and Grove Joint Environmental Trusts) where the building had an element of community use.  Applications from owners of private buildings would be rejected if there was no community use of that building.  It was noted that one other Area Committee had adopted this stance.  As a result of this decision to continue the practice adopted last year, three applications for works to historic buildings were refused. 

Turning to the application from the Wantage Nursing Home Charitable Trust, Members asked whether a grant made by the Committee would be returned if the project failed and the bank called in the loan.  It was agreed that, although Members were minded to award a grant of £5,000, this should be deferred pending the receipt of legal advice on a possible grant condition about how the grant could be returned in the event that the project failed. 

RESOLVED

(a)        that it be noted that the Committee's Community Grants budget for 2006/07 is £29,273.88;

(b)        that it be noted that £4,446 has been allocated from the budget at the Committee meeting held on 14 March 2006 towards additional parish cleansing and the Wantage Summer Festival 2006, leaving a budget of £24,827.88 remaining; 

(c)        that payments of the following grants under Service Level Agreements be agreed as follows (by five votes to nil with one abstention):

·         Wantage, Grove and District Twinning Association   £2,000

·         Hendreds Twinning Group                                             £500

(d)        that the following community grant applications be approved:

(e)        that the following application be approved in principle, subject to the receipt of legal advice:

(f)         that the Committee will consider support for the preservation of listed historic buildings that are privately owned (outside the areas of the Wantage and Grove Joint Environmental Trusts) where the building has an element of community use.  For the 2006/07 financial year, applications from owners of private buildings will be rejected if there is no community use of that building;

(g)        that, as a result of the decision in (c) above, the following applications be refused:

(h)        that a list of service level agreements affecting the South East Area Committee's budget should be submitted to the next meeting.