Samantha Wightman
Council: Fareham
Committees:
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
69 meetings · Page 1 of 14
Executive Portfolio for Leisure and Community - Thursday, 20th November, 2025 1.30 pm
Decisions from Meetings
109 decisions · Page 12 of 22
Local Authority Housing Fund Grant Funding
From: Executive - Tuesday, 11th March, 2025 6.00 pm, NEW - March 11, 2025
The report seeks Executive approval to purchase four homes, including three homes for temporary accommodation and one home for Afghan families using funding allocated through the Government’s Local Authority Housing Funding (LAHF). The purpose of LAHF is to support councils to obtain quality temporary accommodation for homeless families, and safe and suitable housing for Afghan citizens who are fleeing persecution. Fareham has been deemed an area with a need for this type of housing, therefore the government has awarded match funding to the council to enable it to acquire additional affordable homes for this purpose. The Director of Housing will utilise an existing delegation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, detailing the funding arrangements with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Further details are included in the confidential appendix attached to the report. The Executive is asked to delegate the authority to approve property purchases to the Director of Housing, following consultation with the Executive Member for Housing.
Recommendations Approved
Citizen of Honour Nominations 2025
From: Executive - Tuesday, 11th March, 2025 6.00 pm, NEW - March 11, 2025
The report presents nominations for consideration under the Council’s annual Citizen and Young Citizen of Honour Awards 2025. The Citizen of Honour Award was introduced in November 1996. Five years later, the scheme was extended to recognise the efforts of younger residents under the age of 18 through the Young Citizen of Honour Award. Over the last 28 years, the award has honoured 115 residents of the Borough, with nominations being received from all areas of Fareham. This year, the Council has received 6 nominations overall. There are 5 nominations for the Citizen of Honour Award (18 and over) and 1 nomination for the Young Citizen of Honour Award (under 18).
Recommendations Approved
Community Fund Application - Repair Cafe Portchester
From: Executive Portfolio for Leisure and Community - Wednesday, 5th March, 2025 2.45 pm - March 05, 2025
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.
Recommendations Approved
Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035
From: SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 13th February, 2025 5.00 pm - February 13, 2025
To seek Executive approval of the Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035 alongside approval of the proposed increase to the Revenue Base Budget and identified project budgets to support the long-term delivery of the Strategy. To seek Executive approval of the proposed Stage one Masterplanning work and the associated capital budget. The Council has a strong ambition to reverse the decline of Fareham Town Centre through regeneration, recognising the wider placemaking, economic regeneration and health benefits a more successful town centre would bring. Fareham’s town centre has a key role in supporting the economy of the Borough. It is the highest-ranking destination in the Council’s retail hierarchy and as such, provides the main location for retail, leisure, entertainment and cultural activities for the Borough’s residents. Work has already begun to deliver the Council’s significant regeneration ambition with the construction of Fareham Live, the demolition and replacement of Osborn Road multi storey car park, the purchase of Birks Building (also known as Foresters Hall) for housing development, alongside the purchase of Fareham Shopping Centre in September 2023. The Council appointed an asset manager to manage the Shopping Centre, alongside regeneration consultants to support the development of a deliverable and realistic Regeneration Strategy. Stage 1 and 2 of this work was reported to the Executive in January and March of 2024 respectively. Stage 3 of this work has now been completed after a further round of detailed analysis and consideration. This is provided at Appendix A ‘Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy: Analysis and opportunity Assessment’. This work has informed the development of the Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035, which also considers the Council’s Corporate Priorities resourcing requirements and the need for economic and residential growth in the town as reflected in the Fareham Local Plan 2037. The ‘Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035’ is provided at Appendix B to the report.
Recommendations Approved
Fareham Shopping Centre Asset Management Initiatives
From: SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 13th February, 2025 5.00 pm - February 13, 2025
As detailed in the confidential report
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 69
Average per Month: 3.0
Decisions Recorded: 109