Agenda and minutes

1.0      WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

1.1       Microsoft teams, which included elected Members, guests attending within the meeting and those watching via the Live Stream.  He outlined how the meeting would be conducted.

a)    Minute of meeting

b)    Menti evaluations

1.0      Feedback from meeting on 26 JANUARY 2022  

1.1      The minute of the meeting of the Cheviot Area Partnership held on 26 January 2022 had been circulated and was noted.

Place Making – Workshop date 27 April 2022 (for noting)

          SECTION 1: SERVICE & PARTNER UPDATES AND CONSULTATIONS

3.1     Place Making

          A workshop to discuss Place Making in the Cheviot locality will take place on 27 April 2022.

Jess Houghton, Place Planning and Regeneration Officer introduced herself and gave a quick update on Place making and encouraged people to sign up to the workshop in April.

(a)    Kelso Skate Park – presentation from Kelso High School students and 

  Youth Learning Team (CLD Service)

(b)     Electric Vehicle Charging – Update

(c)     Community Choices – Participatory Budgeting Update

(d)     Cheviot Community Assistance Hub Update

SECTION 2: LOCAL PRIORTIES 

4.1       Kelso Skate Park

Clare Malster, Locality Development Co-ordinator reported that unfortunately the Kelso High School Students were unable to attend the meeting.

4.2     Electric Vehicle Charging Update

It was reported that through funding from the UK Community Renewal Fund, Scottish Borders Council was currently taking forward a region wide feasibility study to identify future EV vehicle charging demand and the commercial opportunities to create a regional delivery model to attract private investment and operation.  This approach recognised the Scottish Government’s new approach to funding charging infrastructure through private sector investment.  In the National Transport Strategy 2 Delivery Plan and the recently published Transport Scotland and Scottish Futures Trust report on delivering EV Infrastructure, they both highlight that the public sector had supported the growth in EV vehicles through initial infrastructure and, now the market had reached maturity, it was time to leverage private sector investment into the country to deliver the wider infrastructure required to hit the Net Zero targets over the next 20 years.

The feasibility study acknowledged that with the size and dispersed population of the Scottish Borders, it would make it difficult to attract private sector investment equitably across the region.  Therefore the study was looking to engage with sectors in the Scottish Borders (business, tourism etc.) and communities to quantify the future charging demand and to provide guidance on forming partnerships to procure investment from the private sector collectively.  This would enable the region to gain economies of scale / critical mass and maximising the coverage of private investment.

The public consultation was expected to go live w/c 4 April and run to the end of June.  This would include stakeholder workshops expected to take place mid-April – early May. There would be specific workshops for community councils which would help on a locality basis.  The information would be circulated as soon as it was available.

4.3     Community Choices – Participatory Budgeting Update

It was reported that at their meeting on 22 February Scottish Borders Council received an update on the organisation’s approach to Participatory Budgeting (PB).  In 2017 CoSLA announced that Council Leaders had agreed that at least 1% of local government budgets would be subject to Participatory Budgeting by the end of the financial year (2020/21) with the aim of giving communities more influence over decisions on how funding was spent in their local area.  However with the majority of PB work stopping in response to the pandemic CoSLA and Scottish Government recognised the exceptional circumstances brought about by the ongoing pandemic, and the impact this had had on the ability of local authorities to meet the 1% Framework Agreement by the end of March 2022.  Scottish Government and CoSLA Leaders have renewed their commitment to meeting the 1% target and the Framework Agreement had been revised to allow a degree of flexibility in meeting the deadline, alongside the importance of embedding social renewal within future mainstream PB activity.

The PB target of 1% was not about identifying  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(a)    Funding Tables March 2022

(b)    (i)  Cheviot Community Fund  - 2021/22 Overview and Cheviot

       Assessment Panel’s recommendations for changes to the current

       scheme for 2022/23

          (ii)  Cheviot Community Fund  - consider funding recommendations from the

                Cheviot Assessment Panel

(c)     Build Back a Better Borders Recovery Fund applications

      Consider three applications for funding:

      i).   Jed Thistle RFC

      ii).  Archaeology Scotland

      iii). Bodyzone Gym

Photos of BBBB funded projects: BBBB Fund Awards 2021/22 | Flickr

SECTION 3: COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND COMMUNITY FUNDING

5.0    At their meeting on Thursday 3 March 2022 Cheviot Assessment Panel discussed changes to the operation of the fund from 1 April 2022. The paper sets out the proposed recommendations for change for consideration by Cheviot Area Partnership.

5.1     The Cheviot Community Fund Framework was a document, approved by Cheviot Area Partnership which set out the various aspects of the Fund and how it operated. The Framework for Cheviot Community Fund 2021/22, appended to the report, was developed by a working group comprising community councillors, representatives from the Third Sector and the Chair of Cheviot Area Partnership and agreed by Cheviot Area Partnership on 30 June 2021.

5.2     The Cheviot Assessment Panel was recommending the following amendments:

·           Increase the maximum grant to £5,000 (current maximum grant is £2,500). 

A number of the groups that applied had to seek grants from other funders in order to meet all their project costs. The allocation for 2021/22 had a projected underspend, to be carried forward, of approximately £25,000. It was felt that raising the limit to £5,000 would maximise the Fund and support local groups/organisations to deliver projects/initiatives.

·           Change the term of office for Assessment Panel members from one to three years.

During their term the current Panel had built up skills and knowledge assessing projects and producing recommendations to Cheviot Area Partnership. Renewing the membership of the Panel annually risked the loss of these skills on a frequent and recurring basis. The introduction of a three year term would reduce this risk.

·                The Panel was discussing the Scoring Matrix with a view to establishing whether any changes are required.

Approval of any suggested changes be delegated to Jenni Craig as the next meeting of the Cheviot Area Partnership was not until 29 June 2022.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)      that the maximum grant remain at £2,500;

(b)      not to agree a change in the term of office at this stage but that the Assessment Panel come back with an alternative proposal.

(c)      that the current scoring matrix remain at present as only been running for 6 months.

6.0     CHEVIOT COMMUNITY FUND

There had been circulated copies of a report which detailed the recommendations of the Cheviot Community Fund Assessment Panel. The report provided a brief description of each application received and a recommendation on the sum to be awarded to each project.

6.1    Well Road Productions – Well Road Production Series

An application was received for the printing a booklet of scripts. Half of these books would go into Cheviot Area Schools and the other half into general sale with income generated used to print additional copies. The Panel were supportive of the project and the key points influencing the Panel’s decision were:

·         Established group with a good record of delivering projects

·         Educational benefit

·         Preservation of local history/heritage

The Panel recommend awarding £2,500.00

6.2     Broomlands Primary School Parent Council – Project Playground

An application was received for purchase and installation of playground equipment. The Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Copies attached.

JETHART CALLANTS

Locality Development Co-ordinator sought approval to re-purpose the assessment of the BBBB 2019/2020 Community Fund Grant application from Jethart Callants received previously.  The Jethart Callants applied to the 2019/20 Cheviot Community Fund for a grant to purchase bunting and banners with the aim of raising the profile of community events in the town. The assessment and grant award was subsequently delayed due to the pandemic.

Unfortunately costs had risen significantly since the application was submitted and this had resulted in the original request no longer being enough to cover all elements of the project. This included the unbudgeted cost of structural testing of the lampposts (required before banner fixings can be attached).  It was proposed that the original award, agreed by Elected Members while Area Partnerships were not taking place, be repurposed to cover the increased costs of lamppost testing. Repurposing had been done by a number of groups who have seen project costs rise following Covid.  Cheviot Area Partnership was being asked to approve the repurposing of the 2019/20 Community Fund Grant.

An application to the Build Back a Better Borders Recovery Fund was being made for the cost of the lamp post banners, which had increased following Covid. The Jethart Callants’ Festival was inaugurated in 1947 with ceremonial rides to places of historic interest. It was an important event in the Scottish Borders calendar of local festivals and common ridings and brought many visitors to the town each year. Although the festival days for 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to Covid, as restrictions were eased Jedburgh saw a large number of tourists both as the first town in Scotland and the importance of historical buildings in the town.  In order to help people celebrate summer 2022 and the first Callants’ Festival since 2019 Jethart Callants was applying for £4,787 to provide banners which would be attached to 12 lamp posts along Abbey Place and the High Street.   The lamp post banners would have a generic design and would be made available to other groups in the town to help ‘dress’ the town during times of celebration. It was anticipated that these would:

·       bring a greater sense of belonging to the town

·       Increase awareness of our events which will engender a feeling of wellbeing within residents. This in turn will increase participation and through that increase spending power within the town.

·       Promote community spirit and feelings of being proud of the town which may in turn make local residents more likely to get involved in what is going on, engage with others, increase general wellbeing and reduce social isolation.

·       Show the town off to visitors/invited guests and making it somewhere people want to stop and explore.

Rather than targeting specific groups or individuals the proposal, to display banners in the town centre, was aimed at helping the town as a whole continue to recover from Covid by helping to increase the general feeling of wellbeing of locals and visitors alike.  The application scored medium  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

(a)     Additional information for noting:

i.      Current consultations, Community Empowerment requests and additional information

ii.     Scottish Borders Council Plan 2022/23: Report and Plan

iii.    Budget Communication Strategy 2022/23, including survey response summary and feedback

iv.   Capital Programme 2022/29 Investment in Play Areas and Outdoor Community Spaces, including Play Park Programme

(b)     Next Area Partnership 29 June 2022 to include:

   a). 20mph Road to Permanence update following Council agreement 16/12/2021

  Are there any items you would like to propose for the agenda? 

  Please contact your local councillor or the Communities & Partnership Team

(c)      Any other formal business

(d)     Meeting evaluation will take place using Menti

DATE OF FUTURE MEETINGS

          Future Meetings of the Cheviot Area Partnership would be held on the following dates:

          Wednesday, 29 June 2022 at 6:30pm          

          Wednesday, 21 September 2022 at 6.30 p.m.

          Wednesday, 23 November 2022 at 6.30 p.m.

            The next meeting would be held on Wednesday, 29 June 2022 at 6.30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams.

9.       MEETING EVALUATION     

Ms Malster reminded those present about the meeting evaluation form which could be accessed via the link https://forms.office.com/r/HHH1dEcmz3 and was available until 11.45 a.m. on 26 September 2021.  She added that feedback about the Area Partnership meetings was really helpful and always appreciated.

10.     CHAIRMANS REMARKS

As this was the last meeting prior to the Election, the Chairman thanked all participants for their attendance and hard work everyone.  He specifically thanked Karen Farquhar and Shelagh Turnbull for live streaming the meetings and Fiona Henderson and Clare Malster for organising the meetings.  Heather Batsch thanked the Chairman for his chairmanship of the Area Partnership.

The meeting closed at 8.50 p.m.