Issue - meetings

Members gave consideration to a report which sought approval to make a submission to the Levelling-Up Parks Fund to deliver new and improved green space in Gainsborough.

Members were aware, the District Council had been successfully awarded Levelling-Up Funding for project activity which was now taking place in Gainsborough.  An additional top-up fund had been awarded to selected local authorities that met certain criteria, which included West Lindsey, the Fund was known as the Levelling-Up Parks Fund.

Members were advised the primary purpose of the Fund was to provide a one-off grant to local authorities to support them in creating a new or to significantly refurbish an existing urban park space.

Section two of the report detailed the “eligible places” criteria and outlined the measures, data, and indicators the Government had used to identify priority categories, these were detailed in Section 2.3 of the report and all were within Gainsborough.

As a result, the report proposed that the primary location to target the funding allocation should be the site known commonly as the Scouts Hill site.

In presenting the report, it was stressed that the funding was not intended to replicate the facilities previously on the Site, which were outlined to Members. It was fully acknowledged that the location had a number of challenges, in terms of the levels of anti-social behaviour, crime and one’s sense of safety and security. The Funding provided an opportunity to try and address some of the local issues and concerns and improve the feel and security of the site.

A total of £85k was available to spend prior to 5 April 2023, resulting in an extremely tight turnaround, with the bidding deadline being 3 October 2022.   The Authority, by this date, was required to submit at least a high-level outline plan of how and where it intended to spend the grant allocation.  As such, seeking Committee approval to submit a bid and increase the capital budget for delivery was time sensitive.

Officers advised how they were then committed to undertaking retrospective work around engagement, both with the community and with Elected Members, Colleagues and Partners to ensure that whatever actions the Council sought to undertake with the grant allocation, they would meet local needs and have longevity.

It was again stressed spend needed to be completed by the end of the financial year and as such Officers considered the proposal to be realistic.

Discussion ensued and a number of Members welcomed the opportunity to improve the site and create a much-needed local facility that people felt safe to use, indicating their support for the Bid to be submitted.

In responding to Members’ comments, Officers advised that the high-level business case had not yet been developed so could not be shared with Members, as a number of workshops which supported the bid submission had yet to be undertaken/ completed.

Assurance was offered that an element of the Bid would focus on improved security, examples being the inclusion of CCTV and designing out crime measures, engagement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32