Aylesbury Vale District Council's New Homes Bonus Grant Funding
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Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 1 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 Front cover: (clockwise from top left): Project Grants: Stewkley Parish Council – newly renovated Pavilion, Quainton Parish Council - Community Beacon, Chearsley Parish Council – new build Village Hall, Halton Parish Council – new flooring in the Village Hall – Centre – Stewkley community event to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Pavilion, Wendover Parish Council - Remodelled Manor Waste, Micro Grants: Great Brickhill Table Tennis Club - new table tennis table, Quainton Sports Club - automatic tennis ball machine, Waddesdon Parish Council - Emergency Plan machinery, Project Grant: Turweston Parish Council - traffic calming measures . Contents Page Grants Panel Membership 3 A message from the Chairman of the Panel 3 What was the New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme? 4 The New Homes Bonus Project Grant Scheme 5 Interactive map of Project Grants awarded 8 The Introduction of the New Homes Bonus Micro Grant Scheme 9 Summary Table 10 List of New Homes Bonus Project Grants Awarded 11-13 List of New Homes Bonus Micro Grants Awarded 14-19 2 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 Grants Panel Membership 2013-2019 Aylesbury Vale District Council Cllr Peter Strachan, Chairman of the Panel and Member for Wendover and Halton Cllr Derek Town, Member for Pitstone and Cheddington Cllr Steven Lambert, Member for Coldharbour Aylesbury Vale Association of Local Councils Cllr John Gilbey Cllr Nick Heirons Cabinet Member Responsible for the New Homes Bonus Cllr Howard Mordue, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources A message from the Chairman of the Panel, Councillor Peter Strachan It has been a great pleasure to have been Chairman of the New Homes Bonus Panel since its inception. Our policy at AVDC has been to release a high proportion of the central government grant to support local projects and so we have been able to enhance our local communities in so many ways. We hope that when we become a Unitary Authority in April 2020 we will be allowed to continue with a similar approach so that communities experiencing high levels of growth can improve their facilities to mitigate that growth. Councillor Peter Strachan, Aylesbury Vale District Council 3 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 What was Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme? The New Homes Bonus (NHB) is a national initiative whereby funding from the national revenue grant for local authorities has been top sliced and allocated to local councils in proportion to the number of new homes in their area. Since 2012 for every new home built and occupied in Aylesbury Vale, the Government gives the council a NHB grant each year. In December 2012 Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) was one of only a handful of councils that agreed to distribute a share of its NHB allocation to parish and town councils, to help alleviate the impacts of housing growth on local communities. 20% of the Government allocation was set aside each year. An Informal Advisory Panel, made up of three district councillors appointed on a politically proportionate basis, and two parish councillors nominated by the Aylesbury Vale Association of Local Councils (AVALC), was set up to consider applications from parish and town councils and make recommendations to Cabinet on the allocation of the NHB funding. The NHB Advisory Grants Panel subsequently met to agree the detailed criteria and process for the grant scheme, based on the decisions of AVDC Cabinet. The key criteria were that: a. Applications should include a business case which as a minimum should demonstrate; the impact of growth on their area, applications needn’t necessarily be from the area directly taking growth in recognition of the fact that those most affected by growth are not always within the area taking that growth the need or community desire for the investment proposed, firm costings together with a funding and delivery plan Awards could be for up to 100% of the scheme cost and could support both capital and revenue projects. Funding agreements were drawn up with all successful applicants. Appropriate recognition of the support provided by the NHB funding scheme was sought through media publicity and appropriate signage. Over £6.1 million has been distributed through Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Funding Scheme over the past seven years. These grants have enabled voluntary and community organisations to invest more that £15 million to provide tangible projects and facilities to benefit Aylesbury4 Vale residents. Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 The New Homes Bonus Project Grant Scheme In the seven years of the NHB Project Grant Scheme’s administration a total of over £6.1 million in grant support has been awarded to 62 different projects across Aylesbury Vale where towns and parishes have been affected by growth or the impact of growth in surrounding areas. Many of the projects funded have been completed, some are in progress and some larger building projects awarded funding more recently will begin once Planning is approved. Projects funded range from the improvement and renovation of existing community facilities, for example, East Claydon, Halton, and Calvert Green village halls, to the building of brand new community buildings in Westbury and Chearsley. Westbury Village Hall Chearsley Village Hall Chearsley Village Hall Feedback form comment: “Having a new, modern and environmentally friendly community space has been a huge success and is being used widely for all sorts of new activities and events. We are incredibly grateful to AVDC for putting its faith in us and helping us to realise our dreams with a grant from the New Homes Bonus fund”. (Antonia Stratford, Chair, Chearsley Village Hall) 5 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 Larger new build projects that will each provide fit-for-purpose facilities for their growing communities are to be built in Aston Clinton and Berryfields (as part of the Roman Park development), as well as a new pavilion in Wing as part of a larger project to improve the leisure and sporting facilities at Wing Recreation Ground. New community centres for Aston Clinton and Berryfields Email comment: “We are truly delighted and the councillors and parishioners of Berryfields are hugely appreciative of NHB funding. Thank you”. (Sue Severn, Parish Clerk, Berryfields Parish Council) Other town and parish priority projects funded through the NHB scheme include the remodelling of the Manor Waste in Wendover, a Multi-Use-Games Area (MUGA), trim trail and also a long awaited Shopmobility and public toilet block in the centre of Buckingham, the purchase of land in Winslow to serve as a new Town Park and Arboretum, a safe pedestrian footway along the B489 linking the villages of Marsworth and Pitstone, a new play area in Weston Turville and traffic calming measures in Turweston and Drayton Parslow. All of the projects funded have helped to improve the living experience for people of all ages living in Aylesbury Vale. Remodelling of the Manor Waste, Wendover Multi-Use-Games Area, Buckingham Tomkins Town Park & Arboretum, Winslow 6 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 With the move to become a unitary authority from 1 April 2020, the Advisory New Homes Bonus Grants Panel met for the last time to consider project grant applications in July 2019. An additional 17 parishes will now benefit from grant awards for capital projects that are important to their communities. Projects funded range from £4,000 for new vinyl flooring in Watermead Village Hall up to £165,000 for the refurbishment of community facilities at Banks Park in Haddenham. Other successful applications include Stewkley and Ivinghoe for improvements to their play areas, Stone, Bishopstone and Hartwell for outdoor fitness equipment, Grendon Underwood for the refurbishment of its village hall cloakroom facilities and Buckingham for the refurbishment of the community centre at Cornwalls Meadow. These and other projects will make a significant difference to the local communities they serve. Members have made strong recommendations that the NHB grant funding scheme continues under the new authority and that the principle of the NHB grant funding scheme for parishes is carried forward. How future funding would be administered will be part of a countywide review of grant funding. Residents gather for the opening of the pedestrian footway along the B489, providing safe passage between the villages of Marsworth to Pitstone Feedback form comment: “The NHB grant was the only way that the two parishes of Marsworth and Pitstone would have been able to afford this footpath as no other funding sources are available for footpaths beside the highway. This vital facility is well utilised by both communities and a huge asset to our villages”. (Laurie Eagling, Parish Clerk) 7 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 Map showing the distribution of New Homes Bonus Project Grant Funding in Aylesbury Vale 8 Aylesbury Vale District Council’s New Homes Bonus Grant Funding Scheme Report 2013-2020 The introduction of the NHB Micro Grant Scheme In September 2017 the NHB microgrant scheme for smaller projects with total project costs ranging from £500-£10,000 was introduced. The scheme was designed to be more inclusive of smaller parishes and voluntary and community sector organisations operating within a parish who had found it difficult to benefit from the larger project grant scheme. Easily accessible Microgrants up to £1,000 were made available and assessed against a generic scoring matrix on a monthly basis with a very quick turn-a-round and the outcome usually notified within two weeks of the closing date.