Agenda item
Rural England Prosperity Fund
Purpose
To inform Cabinet of the approval of the Council’s Rural England Prosperity Fund submission and to endorse the approach the Council is taking to allocating the funding.
Recommendation
That Overview and Scrutiny Committee scrutinise the report and make any necessary recommendation to Cabinet.
Invited
Cllr Tony Dale, Cabinet Member for Economy and Transformation;
Paul James, Economic Development Lead
Minutes:
The Economic Development Lead introduced the report and provided a background to the fund for the benefit of members.
It was noted the fund was £764,000 for the years 2024/25 for capital projects. The officer noted that the fund would be used to increase rural productivity and connectivity within the Cotswold District.
It was highlighted that this would include grants to businesses, village halls and community organisations, active travel, and cultural and heritage buildings.
The Gloucestershire authorities receiving funding are Cotswold, Tewkesbury, Stroud and Forest of Dean. The administration of funds would benefit from a common framework.
It was noted that there would be a joint procurement with Tewkesbury Borough Council and Forest of Dean to appoint a provider who would administer the funds on behalf of the authorities.
It was highlighted that Cabinet was being asked to endorse the overall strategy for the use of funds, it was also asking for the delegation of authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation to enter into a contract with a third party provider to administer the funds.
The Committee then made the following points in discussion of the item;
- There were questions around the monitoring of the 4% administration fee within the report and the makeup of the Assessment Panel. It was noted that the administration fee had been used to jointly fund a Project Manager, who was managing the fund and reporting requirements for CDC as well as FODDC and WODC. On the Assessment Panel, The Director of Governance would check to see how monitoring of the administration fee could be reported.
- There was a question in regards to the match funding. The Economic Development Lead clarified that advice had been sought for the funding amounts that would be offered for grants and the amount of match funding that would be suitable. The Cotswold Economic Advisory Group had advised on the grant funding range for businesses. On the question of match funding, it was noted that businesses would need to make a bigger capital commitment for projects than community organisations or active travel.
- There was a question about what the strategic plan was for developing The Cotswolds through this fund. It was noted by the Economic Development Lead and the Assistant Director for Property and Regeneration, that this was set out in the report for the submission to Government approved by Cabinet on 7th November.
- There was a question around the criteria for the approval of applications. It was noted by the Economic Development Lead that there would be an evaluation framework created by the third party administration organisation. It was also highlighted that there would be flexibility in approving applications within the framework of rules set out by Government.
- The Chair asked about the type of businesses and organisations applying under the Active Travel criteria. The Economic Development Lead highlighted that applications would come in from all routes including the County Council. The Assistant Director also noted that this would be under the Councils developing Sustainable Transport Strategy which is already identifying opportunities for infrastructure like cycle routes.
- The delegation in the recommendation was noted and there were questions regarding oversight.
RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the report
Supporting documents:
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