To seek Cabinet approval to allocate funds from the Town and Community Council Capital Fund in line with the recommendations contained within the report.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services presented a report seeking Cabinet approval to allocate funds from the Town and Community Council Capital Fund in line with the recommendations contained within the report.

He explained that historically, the Town and Community Council capital fund had been used to support a range of different projects proposed by Town and Community Councils and the total available within the whole fund was capped at £50,000.  However in 2016/2017 the fund value was increased to £100,000 for each financial year up to 2018/19, and it was made clear that, in future, Town and Community Councils would be encouraged to link their future applications to the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process. 

The Council had an approved allocation of £100,000 in its capital programme for 2017/18 to support applications from Town and Community Councils for capital projects. In addition, for 2017/18 there was an unspent balance of £20,000 which was allocated to Porthcawl Town Council in 2016/2017 and earmarked for a road hump replacement scheme, which was now not going forward as the final costings were prohibitive. This amount had been brought forward into 2017/18 to bring the total amount available for new schemes to £120,000.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services outlined the proposals received for the 2017/18 allocation.

• Cornelly Community Council – Community Centre Roof, £50,000

·         Porthcawl Town Council – Griffin Park Toilets, £35,000

The Head of Neighbourhood Services explained that it was proposed that the remaining allocation of £35,000 was carried forward to 2018/2019 and that the financial allocation for that year be £135,000.

He reported that the deadline for applications for 2018/2019 would be 21^st February 2018 and it was currently envisaged a decision would be made on 27^th March 2018.

The Deputy Leader raised concerns that the deadline for applications for 2018/2019 was a little ambitious and did not allow enough time for applications to be submitted. The Head of Neighbourhood Services explained that they had been late with the process so there was a desire to be more timely in future however they could be more flexible with the date if required.

The Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help requested information on whether proposals for 2017/18 such as Cornelly Green Area/Playground would be prioritised when bids were evaluated in the next year. He was advised that the project would be evaluated with any other bids received and that there were a number of complications to be worked out on this bid.

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations commented that it was disappointing that only four community councils had submitted bids in this year despite support provided by BCBC.

The Leader added that it was important to evaluate the fund to ensure it promoted the principles of the scheme and supported BCBC objectives. He also congratulated Porthcawl Town Council on the work in submitting their application. 

RESOLVED:                          1) Cabinet approved funding for the projects named in section 4.4 for the values detailed in section 7.1 of the report.

2) Cabinet agreed that the deadline for applications for 2018/2019 was too tight and that it should be reviewed to allow applicants more time to submit their application.