Decision details

RESOLVED: 

Part A

That Cabinet approved:

1.     The proposal to increase Councillor Community Engagement Grants from £600 to £1,000 a year from 1 April 2025;

2.     Community grants totalling £152,500 in revenue grants and £77,871 in capital grants, as detailed in Appendix 1, be included in the Medium-Term Financial Plan and proposed budget for 2025/26; and

3.     The Community Transport grants totalling £44,359, as set out in paragraph 25 of the Cabinet report.

Part B

That officers be requested to produce a detailed report on how a community lottery scheme could be successfully run in the district, and the short to long-term implications for the Council, and for the report to progress through the Council’s decision-making process.

KEY DECISION: 

Yes

PORTFOLIO: 

Community, Safety and Wellbeing

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED/REJECTED: 

As set out in the report. 

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: 

None 

DISCUSSION: 

The Portfolio Holder for Community, Safety and Wellbeing reported he was delighted to present the community grants report which proposed to award funding to support the local community.  In light of the number of grant applications received in the previous year, the process for community grants had been reviewed and a more streamlined approach had been introduced.  As part of this, the Town and Parish Councils had been directed towards applying for CIL funding which had reduced the number of applications received.  The Portfolio Holder reported he supported the new approach and recommendations within the report.

A non-Cabinet member spoke of the financial difficulty of Hampshire County Council and that there was no longer a community grant process.  It was also highlighted that a review was being carried out of the County member grants and that no funding would be available until September 2025, if at all.  Therefore, any funding the District Council could give to support local community organisations was welcomed.

Other non-Cabinet members spoke in support of the report, recognising that the new streamlined approach to consider the grant applications had reduced both officer and member time when reviewing the grant applications.  The recommendations proposed would support a range of organisations across the forest, and consideration had been given to signposting the organisations to other sources of funding.  The proposal to increase member engagement grants was welcomed in order to enable councillors to support local organisations and charities in their local area.