Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder for Grants to Voluntary Organisations, Councillor A Azad, introduced the report which set out the grant applications received as part of the Community Support Scheme 2018/19, noting that the recommended funding totalled £841,083 of the available revenue budget, with a further £41,000 to be ringfenced.  In addition, the recommendations for capital or one-off applications equated to £38,851 from the Community Fund.

Councillor A Azad noted that the high level of support from Woking Borough Council showed its ongoing commitment to supporting the voluntary sector, which included grant funding, accommodation, concessionary rent, discretionary rate relief, parking spaces and the provision of advice.  The total value of the Council’s support for the voluntary sector for the coming year was estimated to be £1,636,754.

Councillor A Azad thanked Officers for their work in the preparation of the reports before the Executive.

Councillor A-M Barker raised a number of questions for the Executive to consider.  It was noted that paragraph 5.15 of the report contained a typographical error and should have read “In view of the nature of the work proposed by the Therapy Garden, it is intended to refer the application to the Thameswey Group of Companies, in particular Thameswey Sustainable Communities Ltd”.  Regarding the new condition for grant awards on venue hire set out in paragraph 2.15, it was noted that the wording would be included in the grant award emails and that the Community Safety Manager would be able to provide advice to groups if required.

Councillor A-M Barker referred to the application for funding from Goldsworth Park Rangers Football Club in section 5 of the report and expressed disappointment that the Group had been awarded the sum of £250 as opposed to the £500 which had been requested towards enabling children to play football.  Councillor A Azad advised the Executive that the application had been referred to the Small Grants Scheme and following consultation with Sport Woking it had been considered appropriate and consistent with previous applications to award a grant of £250.

RESOLVED

That  (i)      the report be received;

          (ii)     the application by St Mary of Bethany Church be referred to Action Surrey for consideration of funding, as set out in Sections 5.8 to 5.10 of the report;

          (iii)     the application by The Therapy Garden be referred to Thameswey Sustainable Communities Ltd for consideration of funding, as set out in Sections 5.11 to 5.15 of the report;

          (iv)    the application by Westfield Football Club be referred to the Council’s Asset Management Team, in consultation with the Council’s Green Infrastructure Team, for consideration of funding, as set out in Sections 5.16 to 5.19 of the report;

          (v)     the application by Woking Community Furniture Project be referred to the Council’s Waste and Recycling Services with a view to exploring the role of the Charity in the wider provision for the Borough, as set out in Sections 5.20 to 5.22 of the report;

          (vi)    funding of £16,000 be transferred to support the ongoing costs of The Junction (formerly the Marjorie Richardson Centre), as set out in Section 6.0 of the report;

          (vii)   the level of committed funding for 2018/19, as set out in Section 4.0 of the report, be noted; and

          (viii)   the remaining balance of the 2018/19 Community Grants Budget be transferred to the Council’s earmarked reserves at the end of the year.

Reason:     To determine financial support for voluntary and community organisations through the Council’s Community Grants Scheme for the 2018/19 financial year.