WYE WITH HINXHILL PARISH COUNCIL

Report to Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council By Cllrs Reece and Bartley Agenda Item 56/18 19 March 2018 To All Parish Councillors

APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC WORKS LOAN BOARD (PWLB) LOAN

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council (WPC) is proposing to apply to the Secretary of State, Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCGL), for approval for a fixed rate loan of £100,000 from the PWLB, to give as a grant to Wye Village Hall (WVH) to support their capital expenditure this year. WPC plans to repay the loan over 15 years. Councillors are being requested to make a resolution on this proposal on 1 March 2108.

2. Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council (WPC) is the Custodian Trustee of Wye Village Hall. The Wye Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity Reg no 302899 is an unincorporated body and operates as the managing trustee of Wye Village Hall, (the subject of this application).

3. WVH successfully completed Stage One of its refurbishment and expansion project (Wye Centre) in October 2017. WVH is now fundraising for Wye Centre Stage Two, for which it has planning consent.

4. The budget for Stage Two is £290,000, based on four quotes: WVH has £80,649 at present in cash or pledges. WVH has asked WPC for a grant of £100,000 towards Stage Two.

5. This leaves WVH to secure the shortfall of £108,694 to be found by other means. WVH has a number of funding applications lodged with public sources, trusts and charities. The expectation is that most if not all of this funding gap will be filled. The picture will be clear by Easter 2018.

6. In the event of a gap remaining before building starts, pre-planned value-engineering has produced a list of economies (see Plan B below – Page 5) which will ensure that all the essentials of the project can be carried out in 2018, so long as the PC grant is approved.

7. This report explains the detail of the Wye Centre project, its importance and relevance to the village, and the exhaustive steps WPC has taken to inform and seek approval from residents for a PWLB loan. The saturation publicity campaign has resulted in one adverse comment (from the next-door neighbour to WVH), and otherwise an impressive level of approval.

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8. Councillors are requested to resolve to approve the proposal, and to authorise the Clerk to send the PWLB Application form, and other supporting documents, to the Association of Local Councils (KALC), for its approval and submission to the Secretary of State, DHCLG.

THE WYE CENTRE PROJECT

Wye Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity

9. WVH consists of two halls, built in 1937 and 1989, a large recreation ground including a tennis club (leased from the Hall charity) a floodlit MUGA for teenagers and equipped children’s play areas for younger age groups. The Hall is the social centre of the village, where people of all ages gather for social contact and recreation, and it is usually fully booked. The Hall is the only amenity in Wye with good adjacent parking. The population is growing and WVH is refurbishing and extending the halls to allow more people to enjoy the facilities, to improve social cohesion and counter isolation. Residents of neighbouring rural parishes in the also use the community facilities in Wye.

10. A major dynamic is the demand for youth activities in the village. The village has a two- form entry primary school and a three-form entry secondary school. The 2nd Wye Scout Group and the 2nd Wye Cub Scout Group are only two of the new youth-associated groups that are now using WVH. Individual visits to WVH has gone up from around 28,000 in 2015 to over 40,000 in 2017.

11. The changing age profile of the population of Wye is also significant. Over a third are aged over 60, and 16% are over 75.

The Wye Centre Project Team

12. The project team comprises 8 of the WVHMC Trustees, volunteers from all walks of professional and vocational life, and other committed and competent villagers. Several local professionals (architects, landscaper, Chartered Accountant, retired solicitor, archaeologist) have done pro-bono work for the project. As with Stage One, the project will be managed by an appointed Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager.

WPC involvement

13. WPC has been deeply involved with the Wye Centre project from the outset. The refurbishment of the Village Hall is the top priority in the Wye Neighbourhood Development Plan 2030, led and prepared by WPC and adopted in 2016 by . The formulation of this Neighbourhood Plan started with in-depth surveys of village opinion through interviews, workshops and exhibitions. The preparatory phase took over two years to assemble evidence. The foundation survey which identified the Wye Centre project as the top priority achieved a response rate of 76% of all households in the parish. This survey yielded some 10,400 pages of public responses, which WPC holds for reference.

14. WPC has sponsored and paid for four separate planning applications for different parts of the Wye Centre project. For Stage One, WPC contributed £25,000 from the precept and £5,000 from reserves over two years: in effect this represented a grant of £36,000 once 2

VAT was repaid. The WVH governing document requires two Parish Councillors to sit on the WVH Management Committee to ensure close liaison. The Wye Centre project leader is one of these Parish Councillors.

Wye Project Stage One

15. (Planning Consents 16/01839/AS, 17/00976/AS, 17/00785/AS.) In Stage One WVH replaced the roof of the large hall (built 1937), extended and upgraded the storage, and re- organised and improved rear gardens/play areas. Stage One cost £262,300. WVH completed the project within budget and on time. The surplus of around £20,000 is part of the funding for Stage Two.

Wye Centre Project Stage Two

16. (Planning Consent 17/01178/AS). Stage Two will add a new front entrance and lobby and a new meeting room, replace the WCs and provide dedicated parent-and-child facilities, and an enlarged storage area. The project will re-organise the busy carpark, with a safer marked pedestrian pathway, clear sightlines and disabled car spaces near both halls.

17. The addition of sound-mitigation material will greatly improve the awful acoustics in the large hall. This will benefit hall users of all ages, in particular the significant proportion of people who have a hearing disability and some autistic children. In summary, Stage Two will convert the original 1937 hall into an attractive, energy efficient and flexible 21st century community facility.

Project Funding

18. Project Funding Requirement - Table One.

Item Amount Notes Stage Two build £233,143 Selected from 4 bids on recommendation of QS Includes £12,000 margin Professional fees £15,200 Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Project Manager and consultant fees Building Controls £2,000 Based on Stage 1 Removal of four trees £1,500 Preliminary. Provision Temporary insurance £1,200 Based on Stage 1 Celebration for villagers £800 Provision and promotion for new facilities Permanent benefactors £800 Provision display panel Acoustics £11,600 4 quotes PA system £6,000 3 quotes Flooring £17,000 3 quotes. Could take lower quality if nec Total £289,343 ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT

19. Project Funding Plan - Table Two.

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Source Amount Amount Notes to date WVH funds left £40,339 £40,339 SECURED from Stage 1 and donated since WVH Financial £15,000 £15,000 SECURED Transferred to Wye Centre reserve Nov 2017. Individual pledges £11,250 £11,250 SECURED Incl Gift Aid. More to come? Sect 106 £6,000 £6,000 SECURED by Ashford BC when small local building development complete Apr 2018

Our own £5,000 £5,000 SECURED, based on experience. Quiz fundraising Night, Magic Evening, and other smaller (ongoing) fund-raising ones.

WPC grant from £100,000 WPC has voted and agreed in principle PWLB loan to apply for a PWLB loan, subject to community support.

Kent County £50,000 Successful bid for £50,000 for Stage 1. Council Village Outcome depends on number of Hall grant competing bids. Decision Mar 2018

Ashford Borough £10,000 Bid pending. Decision Apr 2018 Council Awards for All LEADER Rural £45,000 Pre-application accepted. Bid to be Development considered Mar 2018. Decision Apr 2018 BIFFA £10,000 Landfill. Bid Mar 2018. Result uncertain

Bids to 10 £10,000 Estimate. Some Trusts gave to Stage charitable Trusts 1*. who normally give Bids outstanding to: de Haan*, Sunley, £1,000 - £5,000 (if Garfield Weston at all). £3,000 Recent from Cantiacorum Foundation

Total £302,649 £80,649 Total success here exceeds the sum required. However, the big unknowns are the KCC bid (where we have previous success); and the LEADER bid. This picture will be much clearer by Apr 2018.

Current shortfall £208,694 Before WPC grant From £289,343 (Total Table 1)

20. Plan B. WVH is conscious that it may have to ‘value engineer’ the project. This approach was necessary on Stage 1, when WVH deferred one store room (the Green Room) until Stage Two, saving £35,000 from the builder’s quote, as it could not be built while retaining a prudent margin of safety. Plan B shows the Green Room carried forward as a dispensable 4

element in Stage Two if necessary. Alternatively, some attractive items such as the acoustic improvement or new flooring could be deferred until funds become available, but also at a negative impact to the project.

21. Plan B -Table Three.

Economy option Action Cost Impact saving Green Room Delete £46,000 Planning permission would continue. Could fund-raise for 2019, but would be more expensive as a one-off Acoustics Defer £11,600 Not desirable. Major part of attracting more people to use the hall. PA system Defer £6,000 Cannot be installed until acoustics are done Flooring defer £17,000 Must be done at some time soon, becoming a H&S issue Flooring Accept £6,000 Team really wants high quality to ‘finish lower the job’, but could go for a lower spec quality Carpark Re- £6000 Messy, not desirable organise but defer re- surfacing Hard-nosed review Select £3,000? Not significant if items can be added later of specification to items for trim non-essential trimming/ items without delay having to act on any of the above

Public participation

22. The residents solidly support the Wye Centre project. At a WVH Open Day in 2016, attended by over 400 residents, one of two choices of design received 90% of the votes. Most recently, an unprecedented 73 residents wrote to the Borough Council in support of the second planning application. Parish members enthusiastically support fund-raising events (quiz nights, Magic Evening, barn dances, Christmas Fairs, Auction of Promises, Raise the Roof (tile-buying) campaign).

The requirement for WPC help

23. WVH exhausted many sources of funding for Stage One. WVH currently holds £80,649 in cash or pledges, towards its goal of £290,000. With the benefit of a £100,000 grant from WPC, WVH is confident that the remaining shortfall of £108,694 can largely be met from other sources. Table Two above shows the bids that are awaited: the outcome of most these bids will be known by Easter.

24. Without the WPC grant, however, which represents 35% of the total project budget, it is unlikely that Stage Two can be completed this year. Delaying the project for a year to seek further funding would carry significant penalties:

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• The perceived withdrawal of support at this late stage by WPC would send a very negative signal to other potential supporters. • Some pledged and prospective funds are time-limited and would become invalid. • The volunteer project team, who have been working on this project since 2014, would become de-motivated and the project would risk terminally losing momentum. • Some funders whose responses are expected within months (Table 2) will pledge funds only against significant match-funding such as offered by the WPC grant. This is particularly the case with the LEADER programme to whom WVH has applied for a grant of £45,000.

25. In recognition of residents’ contributions to the Wye Centre Project, WVH proposes to freeze the rental charge for parishioners booking the halls for private events at the current rate, which is a discount on the general public hire rate. This freeze will last for at least five years, thus becoming a significant differential over time.

26. The quicker that approval for the PWLB loan is secured, the more leverage will be applied on other potential funders to deliver. However, WPC does not need to execute the loan until early June 2018, by which time it will be clear whether the project is viable. There is therefore no risk that the loan will become a burden to the Council without the project being carried out.

WPC DELIBERATIONS AND CONSULTATION PROCESS

WPC deliberations

27. Full Public WPC meeting 5 October 2017. WPC considered the options relating to a possible loan from the PWLB, with members of the public present, and directed further study.

28. Full Public WPC meeting 2 November 2017. WPC considered that the £30,000 already granted to WVH from the precept and reserves over the last two years were as far as WPC could prudently assist WVH from its own resources. The accepted guideline for unallocated reserves is to maintain reserves at around 50% of the precept: WPC reserves were 48.08% in the December 2017 forecast to YE 2017/18. There was moreover uncertainty about significant future professional fees and other costs associated with the WYE3 development. WPC therefore resolved in principle to seek a PWLB loan in Spring 2018 subject to electorate endorsement and capacity within the budget.

29. Full Public WPC meeting 18 January 2018. WPC set its budget for 2018-19. Although the precept was raised by 4.49%, this is unrelated to the Stage Two project: the provision for the first six-monthly repayment of the PWLB loan in November 2018 (the only repayment in FY 2018-19) did not lead to a rise in the precept. The 4.49% increase allows a provision for inflation, which particularly addresses a projected increase in salary and benefits for WPC employees (3.03%), and a previous vote to repair the village war memorial and provide a commemoration plaque (1.46%).

30. The calculation for the PWLB loan presented for public consideration in January and February 2018 was based on a repayment period of 15 years and an interest rate of 2.21%. This worked back to a target cost of 2p per day per Band D household. Today, the rate of interest from the UK Debt Management Office is 2.43%.

31. Full Public PC meeting 1 February 2018. WPC approved its 2018/9 budget at the WPC meeting. WPC considered that the single PWLB loan repayment in FY 2018/19 could be 6

absorbed within the existing budget.

Future management of the repayments

32. As reported in para 28 above, WPC does not believe the level of unallocated reserves is sufficient to fund further interest payments. WPC takes the view however that repayment of the loan can be achieved by reallocating the existing budget line that previously supported the Village Hall. The repayment of the capital and interest on a loan of £100,000 represents about 2p per day per Band D Household. With the expected increase in housing leading to at least a 20% increase in the village population by 2030, this burden will increasingly be spread over more households.

Preparation of case for electors – raising public awareness

33. The village electorate has been made aware that the WVH was asking WPC to provide a grant of £100,000 and the WPC’s proposal to fund this with a loan in the following ways:

• WVH prepared a Powerpoint presentation showing the details of the Stage Two build, the costs, and the goal of asking WPC to provide a £100,000 grant (see relevant PPT slide attached). This slideshow has been shown at public meetings on: a) 22 October 2017. WVH Celebration of completion of Stage One (Village Hall) b) 12 December 2017. WPC Village Meeting (Agenda: WYE3 Planning developments, PWLB loan). The PowerPoint presentation is available to download here from the WPC website – see the 12 December diary event.

• 4 November 2017. The possibility of a PWLB loan was discussed at the Wye Heritage AGM held in the Latin School. The AGM was attended by over 30 Wye residents.

• January 2018. The WVH Chairman’s regular monthly article in the Parish Magazine gave details of the proposed PWLB loan and invited comment. (The print run is circa 610 and reaches over half the households in the parish).

• 20 January 2018. The PWLB loan was the subject of posters and plans at the WPC monthly drop-in at the Wye Farmers Market for over three hours. People stopped to discuss the Stage Two project, and look at plans, and 41 villagers signed a book indicating their support for the loan. (This book is the original one retained from the Open Day in July 2015 in which 184 villagers showed their approval of the Wye Centre project: a further 33 signed during the next week.) The only comment from the Farmers Market not showing full support related to the colour of the cladding – which is in fact a Condition of the planning application and yet to be decided.

Formal 6-week consultation (22 January - 5 March 2018 - no public holidays in the period)

34. Parish E-Newsletter 41 contains two articles, from the chairmen of WPC and WVH, about the Stage Two project and WPC’s proposed approach to supporting the fundraising target. The text contained direct email links to both chairmen. E-Newsletter 41 circulated to 619 ISP addresses on WPC’s email mailing list 22 January. The articles give details of the proposed loan and invited comments.

35. Five villagers emailed giving their support. Recipients opened the Newsletter 1,018 times. 7

Readers clicked on links in the e-newsletter 303 times, but only one person clicked on the link to the PWLB website for further information. Analysis of E-newsletter 41 shows that it achieved a ‘click to open’ rate of 43.95% in four weeks. This shows a high level of general engagement with the content of E-Newsletter 41, while only 0,33% of that engagement responded to the PWLB question posed by the WPC chairman.

36. Newsletter 42 followed a few days later and is the print version of Newsletter 41 with a condensed version of the same two articles discussing the PWLB loan option. This edition was intended to reach all those residents who either do not have internet access or have chosen not to opt into the WPC mailing list. WPC printed and circulated this edition by hand to all households in the village. For speed, the Parish Clerk posted 154 copies to addresses outside the village envelope, but within the parish. The Clerk also displayed laminated copies of Newsletter 42 in the WPC public notice boards, Wye Public Library reception desk and noticeboard, Wye News and Wye Station waiting room. See attached Newsletter 42.

37. Newsletter 42 is available to download in PDF format from the WPC website here.

38. 6 February 2018. WPC – ‘Meet the New Clerk’ event, an informal social occasion with light refreshments attended by some 65 residents, twenty-five of whom signed the book relating to the PWLB loan. The process has been validated by the Parish Clerk. The PowerPoint slide-show (see above) was also again on show on a continuous loop for two hours.

39. Our Place Wye has a Facebook Group to facilitate community engagement and awareness. This Group has some 400 subscribers, most of whom are Wye residents. The moderator, who is also a parish councillor, posted the WPC chairman’s PWLB article on Facebook to prompt comments. There were five replies, one strongly in favour, four asking for further information and then concurring.

CONCLUSION

Assessment of Consultation Process

40. The authors of this report assess that by exhaustive means all residents have had the details of the loan put before them for consideration, including the fact that, in the worst case, in future years the precept might have to rise by 2p per day per Band D household to sustain repayments: and that they have had ample time to ask questions and respond. Only one objection has been lodged, by the immediate neighbour to the Hall, and a significant proportion of villagers have taken the opportunity to show positive support by email, by signature in the proposal book, face to face with Councillors, and on Facebook.

ACTION

Council Action

41. Councillors are requested to take note of this report and resolve to authorise the Clerk to pass the necessary documentation to KALC for its approval and onward transmission to the Secretary of State.

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RESOLUTION

42. Resolution

1. To apply to the Secretary of State for borrowing approval to borrow the sum of £100,000 for a term of 15 years, in order to provide a grant to Wye Village Hall and Playing Field Charity towards the refurbishment and extension of Wye Village Hall.

Cllr David Reece

Cllr Richard Bartley

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