Decision details

Summary
Award of £19,503 for grants using funds raised via East Herts Lottery. The grants are awarded to artists to support the running cost of taking part in Arts in East Herts 2026. Arts in East Herts is an annual showcase event run between September and October to encourage people who live, work and play in East Herts to engage with local arts offerings.
Council approved the overall council budget at its meeting on 4th March 2026. This the use of £10,000 from the East Herts Council allocated for grants in 2025/26 which was brought forwards into 2026/27 and another allocation of £10,000 from the same source and for the same use in 2026/27. In combination, this gave £20,000 for grants in 2026/27.
The Director for Communities is using the delegation in the Constitution at paragraph 10.13.23 'to devise and administer arrangements for distributing grants to improve the health and wellbeing of local people'.
The Director for Communities chose to consult the Executive Member for Communities, Cllr Alex Daar, about the proposed grant allocations. Cllr Daar confirmed her agreement with the proposed grants, these being those with the highest scores using the predetermined assessment mechanism.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DECISION:
That: Director of Communities
£19,503 of East Herts Lottery funds are awarded to:
1)& by Donna Reeves £800
2) All Sorts Dementia Group CIO £800
3)ArtVibe Community £800
4)Becky Harley £800
5)Bishop’s Stortford Arts Society £776
6)Bishop’s Stortford College £800
7)Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia £800
8)Bryony Applegate £800
9)Buntingford Writers Group £360
10)Drawing Voices £794
11)Eloise Pilbeam £800
12) Hazel Russell £800
13)Hertford Art Society £800
14)Hertford Regional College £800
15)Herts Building Preservation Trust (Much Hadham Forge Museum) £600
16)Herts Book Festival £800
17)Jade Dawn Designs £800
18)Lauren Wilson (on behalf of Ore Projects) £800
19)Manic Ceramics £800
20)Master Art Workshops £800
21)Much Hadham Drama Group £577
22)Olha Revina £800
23)Parsonage Residents Association £500
24)Rubino Wilson £800
25)Sarah Hollis £396
26)St James Church, High Wych £500
27)Standon Sings £450
28)Ware & District Photographic Society £150

Option 1: Do not fund these grants and recognise the increased possibility of the council not aligning to its cultural strategy of providing support to enhancing people’s health and wellbeing through the arts NOT RECOMMENDED
Option 2: Fund these grants to ensure Arts in East Herts 2026 can go ahead and ensure continuity of the showcase event for another year. RECOMMENDED