Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report from the Urban Growth Project Manager.

The report outlined that in 2012, the council devolved to area committees decision-making over the use of particular types of S106 contributions, which were collected to address the impact of development. The first two priority setting rounds took place in 2012/13 and 2013/14.

The current (third) priority-setting round was focussed on S106 grant funding to community groups to enable them to make improvements to their community or sports facilities, which would benefit local communities. The Officer’s report focused on two grant applications relating to community facilities received from local groups in the South Area.

A fourth priority-setting round would take place later in 2015. Proposals and/or grant applications will be invited in the early summer, with a view to committee reports & priority-setting decisions in the autumn.

The Urban Growth Project Manager said there was a typographical error in paragraph 4.3 of his report. Cherry Hinton Recreation Ground pavilion would receive £180,000 not £80,000 of funding as listed.

The Urban Growth Project Manager revised recommendations in his report:

The South Area Committee is recommended to:

2.1     [NO CHANGE] defer making a decision on the grant proposal for the Memorial and Meeting Hall on Cherry Hinton Road, to allow an updated application to be considered in the next S106 priority-setting round later in 2015;

2.2     [REVISED] recommend a grant of £121,000 for the Cherry Hinton Baptist Church Family Centre improvement scheme as currently proposed, subject to (i) project appraisal approval, (ii) community use agreement and (iii) a clear understanding that no further S106 funding will be required for the delivery of this project. This is in place of earlier allocations of S106 contributions to this project by the South Area Committee.

The recommendations were revised in light of late information received from Cherry Hinton Baptist Church. If the Applicant was not able to use the allocated funding, it would go back into the pot for the fourth spending round.

The Cherry Hinton Baptist Church Pastor made the following comments in response to the report:

       i.          The Church had applied for circa £61,500 of funding from various sources towards its project in addition to s106 monies. Thus the project would not be wholly reliant on s106.

     ii.          It was hoped that work would start in August 2015.

In response to Members’ questions the Urban Growth Project Manager said the following:

       i.          To receive community grants, Applicants have to raise some of their own project funding so they are not solely reliant on s106.

     ii.          There should be sufficient funding for Cherry Hinton Recreation Ground pavilion and Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground pavilion in the fourth spending round if SAC went with Officer recommendations at tonight’s meeting (2 February 2015).

   iii.          S106 funding was finite and the available pot would reduce in future. If SAC supported Officer recommendations at tonight’s meeting, there would be less funding available for future projects.

Following discussion, Members resolved:

       i.          (By 8 votes to 0 with 1 abstention) to defer making a decision on the grant proposal for the Memorial and Meeting Hall on Cherry Hinton Road, to allow an updated application to be considered in the next S106 priority-setting round later in 2015.

     ii.          (Unanimously) to recommend a grant of £121,000 for the Cherry Hinton Baptist Church Family Centre improvement scheme as currently proposed, subject to (a) project appraisal approval, (b) community use agreement and (c) a clear understanding that no further S106 funding will be required for the delivery of this project. This is in place of earlier allocations of S106 contributions to this project by the South Area Committee.

Councillor Pippas did not participate in the vote on (i) due to his declaration of interest.