The purpose of the report is to seek Cabinet approval of the submitted business plan from a representative Community Group in Nantymoel, to allow the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club to be extended. This will ensure that additional community use can be accommodated in that facility and that the allocated Council capital funding of £200,000 can be released for this purpose, as per the Cabinet recommendation resulting from the closure and demolition of the Berwyn Centre five years ago.

The Corporate Director Communities presented a report, in order to seek Cabinet approval of the submitted business plan from a representative Community Group in Nantymoel, to allow the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club to be extended. This would ensure that additional community use can be accommodated in that facility and that the capital funding of £200k can be released for this purpose.

The background of the report referred to the former Berwyn Centre facility and that when this had closed due to a state of disrepair, and that a sum of £200k had been set aside to invest in the provision of replacement community facilities in Nantymoel.

Though there had been a delay in spending this funding, due to the fact that there had been difficulty in the local community reaching a consensus as to what facility they feel would be an appropriate alternative (to the Berwyn Centre), the Corporate Director Communities confirmed that this had now been resolved.

Additionally, he confirmed that the Council had been investigating with the Charity Commission, the feasibility and the necessary process to follow, in order to also release a sum of approximately £49k held in trust by the elected Members of the Council as Trustees, on behalf of the community of Nantymoel, for this same purpose.

Paragraph(s) 4. of the report then outlined the current situation and that which was proposed, and that the Local Community Group which had now evolved into a charitable incorporated organisation, recognised as the Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club and Community Centre with equal trustee representation from other partners detailed in paragraph 4.2 of the report, had with the support of others, developed their own Business Plan. This had been based on a preferred option of extending the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club which is within the immediate vicinity of the former Berwyn Centre site. The Business Plan was shown at Appendix 1 to the report.

The Corporate Director Communities then referred to paragraph 4.5 of the report, and that the sum of £49k was intended to support the local community, as this had accrued from the original development of the Berwyn Centre. The Community Group had also requested that the Council follow the necessary process in order to release this sum of money and the area of land covering the footprint of the previous Berwyn Centre.

A Member stated that she hoped that the funding in respect of the trust would still be committed to the project, even though this was being transferred from the previous trustee, Nantymoel Workmen’s Institute to the new incorporated charity, and wished that this be reflected in the Cabinet decision.

RESOLVED:           That Cabinet:

(1)     Approved the submitted business plan proposing an extension to the existing Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club and thereby agreed to commit the capital allocation of £200,000 towards the proposed development under terms to be agreed and set out by the Council’s Section 151 Officer, and that a further extension for the expenditure of the capital sum be agreed, initially to 31st March 2019.

(2)     That Cabinet noted that officers will request that the Wales Co-operative Centre continues to support the Community Group, assisted where necessary by the Council’s Rural Development team, to bring forward the proposed development, and work with local stakeholders to secure further external funding, in line with the submitted funding plan.

(3)     That Cabinet also noted that it will be necessary to submit a report to all of the Council’s elected Members, acting as Trustees of the Charity Nantymoel Workmen’s Institute, to seek release of monies and land held in trust, to a new charity set up for the purpose of developing additional facilities for the local community of Nantymoel, namely Nantymoel Boys and Girls Club and Community Centre,  and that it will also potentially be necessary to hold a public meeting for this purpose to gain the explicit support of local people as set out in the Nantymoel Workmen’s Institute Charity Commission scheme.

That it be further noted that the release of money for the land held in Trust be applied Cy Pres to the new charitable trust.