(Report of Chief Executive)
The report sought approval of schemes submitted for funding through the Community Development Grant Scheme.
As part of the Tonbridge and Malling UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Investment Plan, endorsed by Cabinet on 5 July 2022, there had been a total allocation of £165,269 for a community grant scheme. A first round of the Community Development Grant Scheme would operate for 2023/24 with a second round in 2024/25.
A copy of the application form, criteria and scoring sheet used for Round 1 of the Scheme was attached for information at Annex 1. Funding priorities for this year were detailed in 1.2.2 of the report. The deadline for Round 1 applications closed on 16 June 2023 and the total amount of funding applied for by eligible applicants exceeded the total funding pot of £33,962. As a result, the decision had been taken to decrease the amount for some applicants based on a scaled allocation with those achieving higher scores receiving the full amount of funding and those with lower scores receiving a lower amount. The suggested allocations were set out in Annex 2 of the report, with a further detailed summary of the details of each bid and the priorities met set out in Annex 3. It was noted that there was a potential underspend of £622.00 which could be used to fund the administration costs for the Scheme or used as a contingency fund to support specific bids.
Cabinet welcomed the investment in youth provision as part of this grant funding. On the grounds that Round 1 was oversubscribed, Councillor Boughton proposed, seconded by Councillor Keers that the underspend be passported over to Round 2 funding to support future bids.
RESOLVED: That
(1) the grant allocations, as set out in Annex 2 of the report, be endorsed; and
(2) the outstanding balance of £622 for 2023/24 be passported over to Round 2 funding