Agenda item

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth, the Executive Member for Communities and the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability jointly submitted a report updating Members on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which officially started on 1 April 2022 and was due to cease on 31 March 2025.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth thanked Officers and the Town and Parish Clerks for their efforts in respect of projects and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). She spoke about the £3,000 new premises grants and the business strand of UKSPF funding. The Executive Member for Planning and Growth spoke about the significant work that had been undertaken towards securing grants for a lot of villages and the smaller towns. She referred in particular to the work undertaken in collaboration with Buntingford Town Council, Sawbridgeworth Town Council and Ware Town Council.

The Chair drew Members’ attention to the recommendations, which included an invitation for Members to consider priorities for the coming financial year (2025/26), and to make any recommendations to the Executive in that regard.

Councillor McAndrew said that the outcomes were all very positive so far. He referred to the table regarding funding in terms of where this had been received and what type of funding had been received.

Councillor McAndrew said that he was fully aware that some towns and parishes were more proactive than others, and he asked how the council was reaching out to those that needed help when considering applying for resources from the UKSPF.

Councillor Buckmaster referred to discussions at an environmental forum he had attended, and the links to the general environment agenda. He referred to small plots of land, town and parish councils and other clubs and associations, including allotment holders benefiting from small pots of money such as UKSPF grants.

Councillor Nicholls said that various different grants had made a massive difference to businesses, individuals, and the wider communities in so many places across the district. She was really pleased that there had been a decision to share the money, particularly in smaller communities where local parish councils had very low reserves and were trying to maintain buildings and put on events with very little budget.

Councillor Nicholls said that in Buntingford and Cottered, community spaces benefited from grant money to make them more accessible for local groups and events, and this meant that these spaces were available throughout the year as there was often a problem in the winter when communities were not accessible as it was too expensive or too cold to put on events. She said that it was great that funds had been put into refurbishing the toilets in Buntingford.

Councillor Nichols said that going forward, funding for climate change and funds available to improve town and village centres had a lot of overlap. She said that she would like to see this continue as a funding area in the next round of UKSPF allocations in the 2025/26 financial year. She referend in particular to Aspenden Parish Council and efforts to rectify  drainage issues on the village green.

Councillor Hoskin said that it was incumbent on East Herts Councillors to carry the message out to parish councils in respect of accessing UKSPF funding support. Councillor Daar said that it was easier for her to communicate with the town council as she was a double hat councillor, on both the District and the Town Council. She felt that if more District Councillors visited town and parish meetings in a consistent way, this would help with getting the messages out in respect of the grants that were available.

Councillor Horner said that he was really pleased to see the benefits of the work that had been done in respect of the UKSPF. He said that the table seemed to cover about 70% of the actual allocation, and he said that he presumed that there was still 30% going through at the moment.

Councillor Horner said that he was aware of projects in Bishop’s Stortford that had not been fulfilled as they would not have been completed by the end of the 2024/25 year. He asked for a flavour of what was still outstanding and suggested that sustainability hubs could be considered for future UKSPF funding. He also suggested using current UKSPF funding for building community capacity around environmental initiatives would mean that the fund had legacy going into the future.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth explained that the remaining 30% of the funding was for district wide initiatives such as the energy hubs and contributions towards Hertfordshire Futures, for the film office and various other initiatives. She reiterated that district councillor involvement to assist parish councils with getting projects moved forward was definitely what was needed.

Councillor McAndrew sympathised with the officers in the timescales that had to work in when dealing with 50 plus parish councils. He praised the officers for their work.

Councillor Nicholls spoke about the setting up of an energy hub in Buntingford and also commented on Arts in East Herts as an excellent initiative. She highlighted an ongoing issue of finding suitable venues for activities across the district. She praised the proposal of setting up a steering group for a future Art in East Herts event next year perhaps.

Councillor Nicholls said that smaller groups and individual artists faced real challenges when promoting their activities and get noticed in their local communities and beyond. She said that larger umbrella events needed to be more inclusive in that respect.

Councillor Clements thanked Officers for their work. He made the point that there was a lot of good work taking place in the community that Officers were not aware of. He commented on whether future allocations could be more heavily weighted towards the villages and smaller localities.

The Executive Member for Communities said that there should be a delicate balance between grant funding for running free events and funding for marketing. Councillor Jacobs said that he had been encouraged by an observation that Bishop’s Stortford had benefited from 41.6% of the total spend to the towns.

Councillor Jacobs said that next year 2025/26 funding was predominantly revenue (£473,000) and £107,000 capital. He asked if this breakdown would cause any issues as most of the spend appeared to be capital spend. He asked about the practicalities of hitting the ground running as per the advice.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said there were a number of projects where funding had been withdrawn as they could not be completed. She said that there were back up emergency projects where funding could be diverted to ensure that the funding was spent. She said that the town and village centre projects could be moved forward relatively quickly.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability mentioned carbon reductions and a focus on biodiversity. He also commented on the local nature recovery strategy and initiatives such as active travel.

Councillor McAndrew asked if any of the projects that had not been processed in the year 2024/25 would be suitable for moving in 2025/26. He referred in particular to active travel.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that there were a number of projects that would not get finished within the timeframe. She said that Officers had been creative in finding solutions for some of the projects, and there were other projects that were on the backburner and were still ready to be funded. She said that there were a number of villages that did not get funded from the village centres fund, and applications would be very quick for any villages that had not had funding already.

Councillor Nicholls proposed and Councillor Williams seconded, a motion that the progress to date be reviewed, and the priorities for the 2025/26 civic year be considered with the following being recommended for UKSPF funding in 2025/26:

·               active travel

·               climate change

·               town and village centres

·               empowering the voluntary community

RESOLVED – that (A) the progress to date be reviewed; and

(B)   the priorities for the 2025/26 civic year be considered and the following be recommended for UKSPF money in 2025/26:

·               active travel

·               climate change

·               town and village centres

·               empowering the voluntary community