Decision details

At its meeting of 18th January 2023, Council approved the use of UKSPF funds to fund cultural activities grants. An allocation of up to £100,000 was subsequently set aside for an ‘Arts Trail’. This programme has since been renamed Arts in East Herts. This will be a district-wide programme of participatory arts and cultural events and activities taking place in September and October 2024. A total £34,519 of the available funding is being allocated to applications for a grant for activities and events which have met the eligibility and assessment criteria.

At the same meeting, Council delegated decision-making on all cultural activities grants and contracts to the Head of Housing and Health acting in consultation with the Executive Member for Communities.

Fund the 37 applications made during the Arts in East Herts grants bidding window which fully met the eligibility and assessment criteria. The grant recipients and amounts are as follows:
• All Sorts Dementia Group - £1,000
• BEEE Creative and Adri Dance Flow and Fitness - £1,000
• Bishop’s Stortford Band - £708
• Bishop’s Stortford College - £900
• Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia - £1,000
• Buntingford Live, Seth Ward Community Hall project #1 - £1,000
• Buntingford Live, Seth Ward Community Hall project #2 - £780
• Buntingford Live, Seth Ward Community Hall project #3 - £800
• Buntingford Live, St Mary the Virgin Church - £225
• Coruscate Stained Glass -£1,000
• Courtyard Arts and Community Centre - £1,000
• Donna Stringer Gallery - £1,000
• Drawing Voices - £1,000
• Fiona Martin - £1,000
• Generation Circus - £1,000
• Hart Studios - £1,000
• Hertford Arts Hub project #1 - £1,000
• Hertford Arts Hub project #2 - £1,000
• Hertford Choral Society - £1,000
• Hertford Regional College - £1,000
• Herts Musical Memories - £1,000
• Little Hadham Pantomime Group - £1,000
• Manic Ceramics - £1,000
• MB Dance Academy - £1,000
• Much Hadham Drama Group - £800
• Mudlarks Community - £1,000
• Ore Projects - £1,000
• Pins and Feathers Productions - £810
• South Mill Arts project #1 - £1,000
• South Mills Arts project #2 - £1,000
• Stortford Music Festival CIC - £1,000
• Sue Williams and Judith Handford - £996
• The Company of Players (Hertford) - £1,000
• Ware Arts Centre, trading as Southern Maltings – £1,000
• Ware Choral Society - £1,000
• Ware’s the Fun Palace - £1,000
• Wolf Newton - £500

Option 1 - Not fund all or some of the applications listed above. NOT RECOMMENDED because the applications to be funded were eligible, assessed within the approved policy and will clearly contribute to the Arts in East Herts programme and the UKSPF outputs on which the council is required to report to government.
Option 2 - Fund the applications for the reasons as discussed in this report.