Agenda and draft minutes

David Dodds was elected chairman of the Panel for the municipal year 2015/16.

Stefan Gawrysiak declared an interest in the applications from Henley Town Council and Henley Rugby Football Club as he was a ward councillor, a member of Henley Town Council and a member of the skatepark committee.

Imran Lokhon declared an interest in the application from Wallingford Rowing Club Ltd as he was a ward councillor.

The grant policy and procedure rules were noted.

The panel will propose a minimum score below which no award will be made.

The panel agreed to apply the following scoring system when recommending grant awards for this round of funding:

·         120 points or more – 100% of the sum requested:

·         90 to 119 points – no more than 80% of the sum requested:

·         89 points or less – no award.

The panel heard addresses from representatives of the applicants and from ward councillors and answers to their questions as summarised below.

Henley Town Council – Skatepark improvements

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak stepped down from the panel to speak in support of the application together with Councillor Lorraine Hillier, ward councillor and Henley Town councillor and Colin Brathwaite from the skatepark committee.

They reported that Henley Town Council had agreed to contribute £75,000 towards the project, which was identified in the 2015 neighbourhood plan. Both the town and district councils had approved the planning application unanimously.

The aim was to replace the ageing and partially decommissioned fibre-glass skatepark with a state-of-the-art concrete structure that was sunk into the ground.  The skatepark committee had already carried out a satisfactory noise study and the site would be landscaped to minimise noise further.

The skate park would be utilised by other sports such as BMX and specific time slots would be allocated for different age groups/people with disabilities/coaching.

Stoke Row Parish Council – Play area improvements

Sara O’Byrne and Catherine Hale from the parish council, spoke in support of the project. They explained that the current play area was well used, but had been deteriorating for some time to the point where it was becoming unsafe in places.  Because of changes in space/safety standards, it was necessary to replace the entire play area rather than replacing equipment piecemeal.

They outlined the extensive consultation undertaken with the community including primary school children and an online survey.

Great Milton Recreation Ground – Play area improvements

Andrew Noble and Emily Johns, on behalf of Great Milton Recreation Ground Committee, circulated the following submission:

“We are disappointed that prior work commitments prevent us from both coming to the meeting today. We have both appeared before SODC Grants Committees before and had very much hoped to be there in person to answer any queries that might arise and share our enthusiasm for this project.

You will note that we are still to secure a substantial contribution from WREN, and we anticipate a decision regarding this on 25 November 2015. We have applied for £27,046 plus the VAT payable on this project, which is an additional £17,454.

Our earlier application to WREN in 2013/2014 was successful, however at that time, we did not have the required designated amount for third party funding already in place.

For this current application, the amount required by WREN (£5,500) has already been secured, and we now have an experienced project manager in place to see this project through to successful fruition.”

Stoke Row Village Hall – Kitchen and toilet improvements

In the absence of a representative from the applicants, the grants officer briefly outlined the proposal to demolish and rebuild the existing extension which was falling away from the main hall.

Councillor David Nimmo-Smith, a ward councillor, had written in support of the application.

The Watlington Club CIO – Refurbishment of facilities

Dave Parks, on behalf of the Watlington Club CIO reported that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The panel will review and amend officer scores as necessary.

The panel considered the applications, taking into account the report of the grants officer on each application, the presentations from the registered public speakers and ward councillors and site photographs. 

Using the agreed scoring criteria and taking account the grant officer’s provisional scores, the panel awarded scores for each application.

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak stepped down from the panel and took no part in the scoring of the applications from Henley Town Council and Henley Rugby Football Club.

Councillor Imran Lokhon stepped down from the panel and took no part in the scoring of the application from Wallingford Rowing Club Ltd.

After discussion the panel agreed the provisional scores for the Henley Town Council, Stoke Row Parish Council and Great Milton Recreation Ground applications but agreed the following amendments listed below:

Stoke Row Village Hall

Increase local need score from 15 to 20 points

The Watlington Club CIO

Increase broadening the range score from 10 to 15 points

Oxford City Football Club (Berinsfield)

Increase project viability score from 50 to 60 points

Increase community benefit score from 15 to 17 points

Increase local need score from 15 to 20 points

Henley Rugby Football Club

Increase project viability score from 40 to 60 points

Increase community benefit score from 15 to 20 points

Increase local need score from 10 to 15 points

Increase community participation score from 10 to 15 points

Wallingford Rowing Club Ltd

Increase community benefit score from 5 to 15 points

Increase broadening the range score from 5 to 15 points

Increase local need score from 5 to 15 points

Increase community participation score from 5 to 15 points

The final scores as agreed were

The panel will finalise award recommendations for the consideration of the Cabinet member for development/building control, and housing.

RESOLVED: to recommend the Cabinet Member for development management, building control and housing:

1. to award Henley Town Council up to £100,000 towards the skatepark improvements set out in their application;

2. to award Stoke Row Parish Council up to £28,950 towards the play area improvements and to include a special condition requiring them to carry out a ROSPA (or similar) inspection;

3. to award Great Milton Recreation Ground up to £49,037 towards the play area improvements and to include a special condition requiring them to carry out a ROSPA (or similar) inspection;

4. to award Stoke Row Village Hall up to £53,700 towards kitchen and toilet improvements and to include a special condition requiring them to let the council’s leisure team book up to 30 hours free use per year for five years;

5. to award The Watlington Club CIO up to £39,028 towards refurbishment of facilities and to include a special condition requiring them to let the council’s leisure team book up to 30 hours free use per year for five years;

6. to award Oxford City Football Club (Berinsfield) up to ££51,691 towards equipment purchases and facilities improvements and to include a special condition requiring them to let the council’s leisure team book up to 30 hours free use per year for five years;

7 to award Henley Rugby Football Club up to £100,000 towards clubhouse refurbishment and extension and to include a special condition requiring them to let the council’s leisure team book up to 30 hours free use per year for five years;

8 to award Wallingford Rowing Club Ltd up to £21,360 towards equipment purchase.