Thank you. I'm in two minds on this application because it's obviously the school is fairly low and it's officer's recommendation against but then again the changing facilities are important to these clubs and everything else.
Thank you. I was minded to follow the officer's recommendation on this but actually hearing the gentleman speak I think I've changed my mind.
I think the throughput of people per month is considerable and I think if it is providing a cleaner, tidier atmosphere because paper towels are dreadfully abused I think if it provides a better environment for people it might attract, people might be more attracted to join the club and stay with it.
I actually am going to change my mind in favour of this. Thanks.
I'm also going to be supportive of this application because I know it's in the round and we have obviously given some money towards the so-called way as well but it's important these clubs work well and changing facilities is important to these things so I'm going to vote against the officer's recommendation and suggest we go forward.
Thank you.
I just had one comment to make. I do belong to a club where we do use paper towels still. I don't think it actually puts people off. Having said that I would be happy to go along with my fellow Councillors but also just make the point that in considering this it's not really an infrastructure matter and I think that's one of the reasons why the officers were recommending not to take the proposal.
But all I would say is in terms of any future applications that should really be borne in mind to make sure that the application meets the structure in terms of what this is intended for, in terms of the requirements. But yes, otherwise I'd go along with it.
Thank you. Therefore, we are rather members happy that we grant this award. Agreed? Thank you. I just say as I say next time round if there is another time it just does need to be really to do with infrastructure. Thank you very much.
Okay. That is the conclusion of the ISHA applications. We've moved on to Hersham. We're going to change it around. So application three will go first. So is Laura Harrison here from Hersham Goldguarding?
Ms Harrison, you have three minutes as well. So I'll hand over to you.
Thank you very much. So yeah, I'm from Goldguarding Hersham and we run kind of activities and adventures for girls and young women in our community. We're very proud and kind of active members of our local community and we have a hall in Hersham.
And it's a lovely hall and we make great use of it. Not only ourselves who are in there kind of every weekday but we have other community groups using this space during the week. We kind of have toddler groups and some kind of music groups and things like that that use this space as well during the week.
The difficulty with our hall is we're finding that it's got lots of acoustically reflective surfaces is what I'm told it's called. Which means that when you put 30, 40 children inside, it can be very, very noisy.
It's a small hall with a low ceiling built a while ago. And we're finding it's getting particularly difficult for increasing numbers of children that we have with neurodiverse needs who are finding that noisy atmosphere just a little bit too much to bear on some occasions.
And lots of our volunteers also kind of feel the same way. And what we're seeking funding for is to improve that space, improve the kind of acoustics within the space so that it becomes a more pleasant environment for us to kind of provide our activities in.
We feel that this will ensure that we can remain as inclusive as possible and that any children that really kind of struggle with that sound and noise environment aren't put off by our location and we're doing as much as we can to kind of make that space a really positive place for them.
So we're seeking funding for some sort of sound clouds that are essentially kind of you install them in the ceiling and they provide, I don't know all the science behind it, but they provide a space for kind of the sound to kind of bounce off of because we haven't got any soft furnishings in this space.
And we've had an engineer come around and he's kind of used a special machine to kind of put in, do some tests in the hall and he's kind of commented that it would make a really noticeable difference in the space.
And we wouldn't find it so dinny, so echoey and so those sound waves wouldn't bounce around as much and we feel that this improvement would make the space so much more positive, not just for our use, we're a completely volunteer-led, not-for-profit charity in our community, but also for those other community groups that use the space.
In addition to that, the flooring is kind of part of the problem as well. The flooring is kind of very old, it's cracked, it's kind of a hard vinyl flooring and we would like to replace that to kind of be a kind of, it's like a lino-type flooring that won't make anywhere near as much difference as the sound clouds in the ceiling will, but together those two things will make the space kind of look and feel so much better for everybody.
Thank you very much for that explanation. Before I ask that all councillors speak about this, I was just seeing your notes that you're in the process of renewing your lease. Is that, are you close to getting that sorted out?
Yeah, we are, it's still in process, so we haven't got that formalised yet. I know when I initially kind of asked about funding that there was advice that it could maybe be held off until that lease is kind of agreed and we're in that position.
We're not there yet, we definitely will be by at the very latest November this year, but I don't know at what point between now and November that will kind of be secured.
On that basis, any proposed award would need to be subject to that, obviously, because if you didn't have any premises there wouldn't be much point, but thank you.
I'm going to turn it over to Hirsch and councillors who would like to speak on this one, or both of them, but who would like to go first? Councillor Hughes?
Yeah, you've actually stolen my question a little bit there, I was going to ask about the lease. Other than that I think it's a very strong bid, so I'll support that.
Thank you. Working with neurodiverse children I fully appreciate the challenges that you do have. I think it's a good package to have with the soundproofing and the floor.
I've actually used the hall a few times and that was quite a few years ago and I didn't think the sound in all the floor was actually that good then, so I would fully support both applications.
Any other members? Councillor Liefen?
Yeah, I would support the application. Just curiously, do you have many neurodiverse children who use the hall, autistic children? Having autistic children, I know the problems that they suffer from hearing. There's noise.
Yes, we do and we're seeing more and more actually as the years go on. I think Girlguiding is such a safe, tolerant, inclusive space that it is something that attracts a lot of children that may be struggling in other social spaces outside of school.
Which is a lovely thing. We're really pleased that we have that diversity in our groups and we're seeing more and more, not just with autism, but children with sensory difficulties, particularly if the activities we're doing are noisy in themselves, that just exacerbates the problem.
Anything we can do to help them feel that it's a better place for them would be good.
Thank you. I don't hear anyone going against this, so I think is that agreed, that award? Thank you. Okay, that's passed.
Right, we now go back to application one on the Hersham section. Is it Mr Loz?
Okay, thank you.
Mr Loz, you've got three minutes and we'll give you a shout when it's coming to the end of that.
Well, thank you all for your time. I'm a trustee at Walton Allotment Association and last year at Burhill Allotment we did a big piece of work with Princess Alice Hospice, as the guys here will be aware.
We were able to deliver two or three times a week leftover or spare excess food, so that was where my passion came from.
And the site team on site have been developing a lot of local community activities over the last two years, and in a meeting about six months ago we looked at how we could make this work together.
From that we looked at how we could create a community plot where hopefully actually we could probably take some of the guides out of the noisy environment and create learning experiences for local children, adults and pensioners.
We've actually got a lot of brownies coming to the site over the next two weeks where they're going to be planting flowers and understanding how to sow seeds.
And just generally learning how to work and be outside.
The purpose for the funding is twofold. We get learning activities and get people on board, but in the same footprint we are then able to produce a lot of food to deliver directly to Princess Alice.
And we're working with the head chef there, Carl, so we can look at different vegetables and fruits throughout the year where we can support them with fresh vegetables appropriate to the cooking for what they actually need.
And some of the things the guys will be offering on site are plant health, beneficial insect identification for children and adults, learning activities around how to create composting, how to manage your garden at home, how to make things work for themselves.
And from the older category we now have actually this evening somebody's just given up their plot and asked if they can donate half of it towards this project as well. So we actually have more space and so they can actually come and work because we have a number of elderly people within the community who are on the allotment sites who have to give up plots that sometimes they've had for 15 or 20 years because they can't maintain it.
So we get their ability to use their expertise to come along and teach children, help the children, help other people on site to sort of give away the knowledge.
So everybody benefits. We have opportunities for learning on both sides and we get the outcome which is great food for a great charity.
That will be it.
Thank you very much. The Hirsch and the Councillors would like to ask any questions.
I'd just like to ask one question. Have you actually communicated to the existing plot holders your intentions of this particular project?
Yes, that's been sent out via two newsletters. We actually have three projects running at the moment within the site. So yes, it's detailed in the two most recent newsletters.
A couple of questions. So the plot size, is it a standard plot size or are you merging plots? And the second question is I'm aware of the very successful Walton community allotment.
There's been a lot of involvement with groups like Men in Sheds. Is it intended to bring groups like that into this to help with the plots?
Yes, the objective is to bring more people from this area and catchment area into that. There's also the opportunity to, if you look at Princess Alice we were discussing last week, they have a bereavement plot in Banstead.
And we're looking at opportunities that how if we get it set up correctly where we have beds high enough for people who are struggling that they can come in, but also an area where people potentially can use that for that purpose.
In terms of the plot, it's a very old rundown plot. It's a full-size plot with an orchard at the back which requires a lot of work, but we've already started clearing that by hand ourselves.
Thank you. Any other questions?
Councillor Liefen.
I'm just curious, you talk about other parts of the project being provided by approaches to businesses. Has that all been obtained or are you yet to obtain any from other businesses? I'm just curious to know how much support you have got from businesses.
As you know, at the moment it's very difficult to get people to part with their money. I'm working across a number of different projects across all of the sites myself.
We've had discussions with the screw fix for their fund of money, which takes up to four to six months for them to come back. They can potentially run something for us going into Christmas as well, giving away funds of money.
So whatever support we can get from you, we will find a way, we will borrow, beg, steal to get this up and running.
Can I say steal?
Thank you. I see also it scores well as well in terms of our matrix. So I don't hear anyone against this, so I think can we agree this allocation?
Thank you. The award is therefore granted.
Thank you.
This brings us on to application two, which is Three Rivers High School. Is Barbara Mayor in there? Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Mayor. Hopefully I've pronounced your name correctly. You'll have three minutes when I switch off my microphone and then we'll give you a show when it's finished.
Right. Good evening. My name is Barbara Mayor. I'm the principal at Three Rivers Academy in Hersham, a very large secondary school. We've got just around 1,450 students.
We're very fortunate to have a lot of outdoor space and a huge field, but actually little or no outdoor seating for students and certainly nothing adequate for them to eat outside, essentially.
We are bidding for three seating areas outside, each consisting of three units with a table and bench, obviously something quite sturdy that would be able to withstand bad weather.
So there's plenty of seats inside the school for sure, but of course we are keen for young people to be outside as much as possible during break and lunch.
The seating units we would place at the front of the school towards the car park and essentially where we've got, this is designated as a quiet area.
So students who want to run around, play ball games, go to the back towards the field and do what they want to do, active.
And the front of the school is designed for those students who just want a quiet break and lunch, just want to sit down and have a quiet time with their friends at the moment.
They just want to sit on the floor, which is not adequate.
It's highlighted very much as something that students want in the various student council meetings we have.
It's something that they repeatedly ask for and unfortunately it's something that I cannot fund from the school budget.
I'm sure it's very tight and unless I make cuts to significant staffing or teaching resources, I can't afford it at the moment.
It's also worth stating that one of the seating areas would be located towards what we call the community end of the school near the part of the school that we let out to all sorts of organisations.
So it would also be used by more than just our students essentially.
So in summary I think the units would promote good social skills, it would encourage students to interact with each other positively, eat together, which is again an important social skill to develop all in a calm environment.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. Any questions at all? I mean this application scores well.
Your explanation it sounds like a very good facility to have for students and our school classes so I'm fully supportive of it.
Is everyone else supportive? Any other questions at all? No.
In which case your application is granted. Thank you very much.
That I believe brings us to the end of the proceedings this evening so thank you actually for coming along and also explaining about the grants and so on.
I'm pleased that we've actually been able to grant all the applications this evening so thank you very much and that's the end of the meeting.
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