Rother Voluntary Action (RVA) had requested a grant from the Council towards the cost of match-funding for a European Union (EU) Interreg 2 Seas funded project, known as Healthy Aging and Innovation in Rural Europe (HAIRE).  HAIRE was a project designed to increase rural community capacity in Rother by empowering people to play an active role in the design and delivery of local services.  Members were advised that RVA had applied for funding through the Council’s Community Grant Scheme however the application had failed to meet the required criteria.

The Leader welcomed Jan Cutting from RVA to the meeting who provided a brief introduction on the merits of the project.  RVA was encouraged to contact/liaise with the Parish and Town Councils who currently ran similar programmes/schemes.

RVA had been operational since 2006, was a longstanding and respected organisation, who had invested significant resources into the district to develop community groups, encourage community action and support volunteering.  It held a membership base of approximately 500+ local organisations and had a strong relationship with the Council.  The Council consistently contributed core funding via a Service Level Agreement which had enabled RVA to acquire additional investment of approximately £4m from other funding sources.

Rother had a high proportion of older persons (aged 65+) which was projected to increase further by 2031.  The HAIRE project would tackle issues that contributed to rural isolation, negative health and wellbeing, as well as develop appropriate solutions e.g. improvements to local transport, usage of the internet, establish good neighbour schemes, access benefits and support the development of local services etc.

RVA required £73,000, of which they had committed £33,000 therefore a further £40,000 would be required over a 3-year period.  Once secured, £110,000 of additional investment would be brought into the district from the EU 2 Seas Interreg Fund.  The report identified funding costs and how these would be allocated which included staffing costs, supporting activities, design and delivery of services, improvements to quality of life etc.

During discussion, a question was raised regarding whether the project was being funded from the appropriate budget, as it had failed to meet the Community Grant Scheme (CGS) criteria and whether it should be funded from the Council’s reserves. The Assistant Director Resources advised that as the Council’s CGS was funded from Earmarked Reserves additional funding could be added later in the year, if approved.

Cabinet was supportive of awarding RVA a total grant of £40,000 over a 3-year period from the CGS budget within Earmarked Reserves, subject to specific conditions.  It was acknowledged that RVA provided valuable support to local groups, research into strategic and local issues, reduced the sense of isolation in communities and acted as a crucial information source for the Council.

RESOLVED: That a total grant of £40,000 be awarded to Rother Voluntary Action, towards the cost of match funding for a European Union Interreg 2 Seas funded project – Healthy Aging and Innovation in Rural Europe (£15,000 in Year 1 FY 2019/2020), £15,000 in Year 2 FY 2020/2021), and £10,000 in Year 3 FY 2021/2022), to be met from the Community Grant budget within Earmarked Reserves, subject to the condition that sufficient funds are secured from other sources, to enable the project to be completed.

(Councillor Brewerton declared a personal interest in this matter as she was the Council’s appointed representative on Rother Voluntary Action and was a former trustee and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the room during the consideration thereof).