Decision

To award £75,000 of UK Shared Prosperity
Funds to support improvements to Pannett Gallery, Whitby and to
promote the recently donated Soper Collection.

Reasons for the decision

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural
England Prosperity are awarded by the Government to North Yorkshire
Council for the purposes of community and economic development. The
primary goal of the UKSPF is to build pride in place and increase
life chances across the UK.

Grants are awarded through a competitive process of application and
appraisal according to criteria set out by the Council’s
Constitution. The decision to approve a grant is made by an
independent panel through a transparent audited process.

This funding is used to deliver improvements to Pannett Gallery in
Whitby to improve visitor numbers, building local pride in place
and support the local visitor economy.

Alternative options considered

Grant giving has been selected as the method
for distributing funds from the UKSPF for projects which support
the aspirations of the fund in Building Pride in our Places. This
approach is considered to be the most efficient in providing
funding directly to local organisations and communities. This is a
competitive grant fund and other projects are also able to apply
for and receive funding. As such the decision is made by an
independent appraisal panel according to agreed criteria which
determine if a grant should be awarded or not.