Agenda item

(a)  Allanton Village Hall

(b)  Parent Space

(c)   Cockburnspath Allotment Association

(d)  Berwickshire Association for Voluntary Service (BAVS)

Document attached.

The Chair of the Community Fund Assessment Panel, Mr Keith Dickinson, updated the meeting on the Community Fund process.  Mr Dickinson thanked all those that had been involved in the development of the process and advised that a fair, robust and transparent grant system was now in place.  He described the process used by the Assessment Panel which consisted of five voting members from the community and three Scottish Borders Councillors with non-voting membership.  Four applications had received for assessment and these had been blind-marked by each member of the Panel, with scores tabulated and returned to officers prior to a meeting of the Panel.  Mr Dickinson explained that while the level of marks had differed between members of the Panel, the order of marks was consistent from each individual.  There was consensus on the recommendations for each application and no votes were needed.

(a)       Allanton Village Hall - £3,150 for repair of retaining wall

The Panel noted that there was clear information on the aims of the project, the definition of need, the problem the group faced and the financial justification.  The Panel also noted that the application proposed a solution to their problem with advice sought from a structural engineer.  The Panel recommended funding the applicant the full amount.

(b)       Parent Space - £4,977.61 for childhood stages courses

The Panel reported that the application did not appear clearly focused on Berwickshire, the demand for the project work had not been quantified, and there was an absence of detail as to what work would take place and where it would be delivered.  Furthermore, the Panel noted that there was an absence of detail on the potential impact of the project and evidence of impact from past work.  Mr Dickinson added that there was support for the group, however the Panel was led by criteria which had not been met in the application.  The Panel did not recommend funding the current application, but advised that they would welcome another application that addressed the feedback.

(c)       Cockburnspath Allotment Association - £5,000

The Panel was supportive of the overall aims of the project however had a number of questions related to the application.  The Panel had concern related to the scale of the project including a significant sum to hire a gardener and allotment developer and recommended instead that the applicants connect with Abundant Borders.  The Panel further noted that the applicants had significant reserves and could have done more to clearly define their financial commitments.  The Panel recommended that the applicants were funded £5,000 specifically for the polytunnel with the caveat that the polytunnel has not been included as part of another grant application or award.

(d)       BAVS - £4,122 for a community e-bike pilot study

The Panel was supportive of the aim of the project and while expressing some concern that the application for two bikes may be too small, noted that it may be appropriate for a pilot.  The Panel considered it would be important for the applicants to gauge demand for e-bikes, that dissemination of the pilot study findings were critical and it would be valuable to extend the pilot to other Berwickshire towns in due course.  The Panel recommended that £4122 be awarded for the project with the requirement that the e-bikes would be passed on to another community if the Duns pilot study proves unsuccessful.

Councillor Fullarton congratulated the assessment panel on their progress.

DECISION

AGREED to the following in relation to the Berwickshire Community Fund:

(a)       to award Allanton Village Hall the sum of £3,150 as a contribution towards the costs of repairing a retaining wall;

(b)       to make no award to Parent Space but to encourage a future submission that contained more detail and was clearly focussed on the criteria for the Fund;

(c)       to award Cockburnspath Allotment Association the sum of £5,000 specifically for the purchase of a Polytunnel, with the funding being released once it had been confirmed by the Allotment Association that the Polytunnel had not been included in any other grant application or award; and

(d)       to award Berwickshire Association of Voluntary Services the sum of £4,122 for a Community E-bike pilot study, on the condition that the bikes would be passed to another community should the pilot study in Duns prove unsuccessful.