Purpose

This report presents an
application for funding under the Council’s Community Funding Programme. 

 

An application to the Community
Fund for start-up funding has been received from Repair Café Portchester for
£1,363.27 towards basic repair tools and PPE, a PAT testing machine, a sewing
machine, administration tools and consumables.

 

Repair Cafes are free meeting
places, where visitors can bring their broken items from home for volunteers
specialising in repairs to fix, giving a new lease of life and reducing waste.
Repair Café Portchester aims to launch on 29th March, with monthly sessions
thereafter at Portchester Community Centre on the last Sunday of every month,
from 10:30am-1:30pm. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response from
the residents of Portchester and there is already an established team of 10
volunteers with diverse repair skills, including a PAT (Portable Appliance
Testing) trained volunteer. They have also gained support from experienced
Repair Cafes in Portsmouth and Gosport.

 

It is anticipated that the Repair
Café will be able to support residents with fixing items such as small
household appliances, clothing items and bikes, in turn reducing the amount of
waste going to landfill due to their repair activities.

 

For long term sustainability of
the organisation itself, the Repair Café will be community-funded through
donations from visitors who use the service and introduce a ‘pay it forward’
scheme to ensure accessibility for all. They also hope to introduce a small
café element, offering refreshments and additional volunteer opportunities.

 

The estimated start-up cost of
this project is £2,339.79. Repair Café Portchester are looking for £1,363.27
from the Community Fund with the remainder being funded through fundraising
donations.

 

Both Ward Councillors, Councillor
P Nother and P Whittle support the Repair Café’s application. As per their
Register of Interests, it should be noted that both are members of the
Portchester Community Centre which is the location where the Repair Café will
run from.

 

 

Decision

RESOLVED that the Executive
Member for Leisure and Community

approve the application to award
£1,363.27 from the Community Fund.