Purpose

To provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust’s project to restore Petty’s Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council’s Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers.

Decision

The decision is:

·       To provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust’s project to restore Petty’s Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council’s Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers.

Reasons for the decision

The proposal to provide £100k of grant funding to SERT to support and extend the scope of the Petty’s Brook improvement project will provide significant benefits in support of a range of objectives set out in adopted strategies.  Doing so recognises the importance attached to the natural environment by the Borough Council. 

Alternative options considered

Whilst it is recommended that a grant of £100,000 is provided, there remains the option of:

·       Not providing a grant; or

·       Providing a sum less than or greater than £100,000.

Noting the Rivers Trust is in receipt of funding associated with Thames Water, additional funding by the Borough Council will ensure that the scope can be widened to provide additional benefits.  Without additional funding or providing a lesser amount, the project can only be delivered across a smaller area and recognising the impact of inflation and increases in costs, there is concern that without additional funding, the project may be reduced in scale and ambition.  There are economies of scale in extending the scope of the project as outlined in this report, given the resources required to plan for an oversee implementation that which has already secured funding.

Equally, there is scope to provide additional funding to support wider benefits.  However, this needs to be balanced against the money held by the Borough Council in the Climate Change Reserve and the need to use this in the most effective manner possible to support wider objectives in response to the Climate Emergency.