The Council’s Community Grant Scheme (CGS) made provision for up to £130,000 per annum to be made available to community groups or organisations that met the specific grant criteria of the Scheme.  In September 2020, Cabinet awarded a total grant of £24,540 including £500 to Strive Café and £500 to Friends of Combe Valley, as well as £15,000 towards the Healthy Aging and Innovation in Rural Europe project.  Therefore, the opening balance of the Rother CGS was £86,460.  Round 2 for 2020/21 closed on the 15 January 2021; 12 applications had been recommended for approval, subject to specific conditions as detailed within Appendix A to the report. 

Thanks were extended to the schemes’ supporting officers for the administration, and the Members and external stakeholders who sat on the Panel and considered these applications in great detail and made difficult decisions in some cases.  Cabinet was also pleased to see the increased take-up of applications and thanked all Members for the promotion of the scheme within their communities.    

Cabinet was reminded that conditions were applied when awarding grants; specifically, that full funding was required to be obtained in advance of any Rother payments being made and that Rother District Council was acknowledged in any publicity and promotional material associated with any project.  It was noted that the total amount committed from the overall budget would be £89,450 which would leave no further funding for the remainder of the financial year.

The Community Grants Panel had delegated authority to award grants under £500.  To encourage further applications, it was proposed that the maximum value be increased to £1,000 from 1 April 2021.  The application process was currently under review in consultation with Rother Voluntary Action.  Cabinet was supportive of the increase.

Round 1 of the CGS would commence on 1 April 2021 and close on 15 July 2021.  Members were encouraged to continue to promote the CGS within their wards and reassured that despite the introduction of a local lottery, the CGS was not discontinuing and was funded in the budget going forward.

RESOLVED:  That:

1)    the Community Grants listed below, as recommended by the Grants Panel be approved, subject to specific conditions relating to each application:

Battle for Tennis – £4,000

Battle Preschool Playgroup – £6,153

Battle Town Council – £7,000

Bexhill Family Collective Community Interest Company – £2,500

Brede Parish Council – £3,085

Camber Parish Council – £4,470

Hurst Green Parish Council – £30,000

Pett Parish Council – £5,000

Rother District Citizens Advice Bureau – £20,000

Rye and District Camber of Commerce – £1,500

Rye Cricket Club – £1,742

Rye Heritage Centre – £4,000;

2)    the maximum value for ‘small grants’ scheme be increased to £1,000;

3)    the Head of Acquisitions, Transformation and Regeneration be granted delegated authority to approve the small grants following a recommendation from the Grants Panel; and

4)    all Members be requested to promote the small grants scheme within their wards.

(Councillor Dixon declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in this matter in so far as it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111