Issue - meetings

To consider a donation to Feckenham Parish Council (Village Green Trust) towards the purchase of allotments and to vire money for this purpose.

(Report attached)

RECOMMENDED that

1)        a grant of £5,000 be made to Feckenham Parish Council / FeckenhamVillage Green Trust towards the purchase of the Feckenham Allotment Site; and

RESOLVED that

2)        authority be delegated to the Head of Environment and the Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Services to negotiate the terms under which the grant is given; and

3)        permission be given to vire £5,000 from existing Environment Services budgets as detailed at paragraph 3.2 to fund the grant payment.

Officers informed the Committee that it was recommended to provide a grant of £5,000 to Feckenham Parish Council / Feckenham Village Green Trust funded from savings in existing budgets without detriment to the service. There was a prospect of the allotments being lost should the money not be forthcoming, although the grant from the Council only made up a proportion of the total amount required.

Members discussed the possibility of protecting the Council’s investment. Officers explained that legal means would be explored to ensure that the grant funding would not be jeopardised and undertook to try and provide details of this by the next meeting of Council. The Committee was informed that, as this was the only allotment site in Feckenham, the outlay was considered reasonable, particularly given the maintenance budgets available to other allotment sites in the Borough. The prospect of this funding being obtained through the Council’s Grants process was raised, although it was conceded that timescales would not have made this a realistic possibility and there was uncertainty as to whether allotments would meet the criteria for receiving funding through this route in any event.

RECOMMENDED that

1)        a grant of £5,000 be made to Feckenham Parish Council / FeckenhamVillage Green Trust towards the purchase of the Feckenham Allotment Site; and

RESOLVED that

2)        authority be delegated to the Head of Environment and the Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Services to negotiate the terms under which the grant is given; and

3)        permission be given to vire £5,000 from existing Environment Services budgets as detailed at paragraph 3.2 in the report to fund the grant payment.