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The Committee agreed to:
 
(1)          
allocate £20,550 to the Improving the Amenity of Towns and
Villages, to promote the environment and social wellbeing of the
area, using the same criteria as last year,

 
(2)          
allocate £3,000 to provide grants of up to £500 to
assist community groups in the preparation of Local Place
Plans.  This was on the basis of one
application per community body and powers were delegated to the
Area Manager to determine these applications.  The allocation could be reviewed if demand
exceeded the allocation and any funds not applied for by 31 October
2024 could be reallocated to the general applications process,

 
(3)          
allocate £47,650 to the general application process, which
would utilise the crtieria as detailed
in Appendix 1 of the report, subject to the criteria relating to
Local Place Plans being revised to read “per community
body” rather than “per settlement”,  
 
(4)          
request that the Area Manager liaise with Finance to investigate
whether it would be possible to have flexibility by means of a
rolling budget, where appropriate, to help support community groups
in achieving the best outcomes for their projects, and
 
(5)          
requested that the current criteria be reviewed this year, in
conjunction with local community groups, to determine whether any
revisions should be made for future years, in order to utilise the
funds in the best possible way to serve our communities in the long
term.