Agenda and minutes

To note any substitution of Board Members made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

The following substitution of a Committee Members had been made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules:

Councillor G. Moore for Councillor M. Siewniak

Councillor N. Pace for Councillor R. Lass

In the absence of Councillor Lass, Councillor S.McNamara as Vice-Chair chaired the meeting.

To note any apologies.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R. Lass and M. Siewniak.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2022 (previously circulated).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2022 were agreed as a correct record and noted by the Chair.

Report of the Head of Community and Housing Strategy detailing the applications for Small Community Grants.

Report of the Head of Community and Housing Strategy which detailed the applications received for Round One of the Small Community Grants 2022/23.

There was £50,000 in total available during the financial year 2022/23 to be awarded through the small grants process.

This was the first round of funding for the Small Community Grants and in total

£23,086.54 had been applied for, with twelve applications to be considered. It was noted that the Red Kite Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Service were asking for £4,000 but the limit was £2,000.

6th Welwyn Garden City Brownies, guide, and ranger unit - £1,000.00

The 6th Welwyn Garden City Brownies, Guide and Ranger Unit are a community run group, working within the Girlguiding programme to support members to be independent and understand the world and community around them.

They run a small group for girls with additional needs to allow them to access the Girlguiding programme: they have been running for 12 years and take girls from the age of 7.

They currently meet fortnightly but pre-covid met weekly but with two different groups of girls each meeting fortnightly.

They lost 50% of girls due to them not being able to manage on zoom sessions during covid, but are hoping most of the girls will return once back to face to face meetings.

The group want to restart face to face meetings but can no longer meet at their old meeting place and were told that their equipment had been ‘lost’.

The group would like to try and budget rent costs for a new venue that has been found and replace all their equipment that had been ruined due to a mouse infestation.

The following points were noted:

•It was noted that the group had lost their equipment to a mouse infestation and this was an unfortunate situation.

•It was noted that they were looking to rent a new premises.

•Members noted that they were a small group.

•It was noted that rules for Brownies/Scouts had changed a lot and they may have to pay per head and this can be expensive especially if the group was small and they could lose money.

•Part of the request is to cover rent, whilst agreed on this occasion, would not be grant funded on an ongoing basis.

AGREED a grant of £1,000.

Birchwood Trust - £2,000.00

The Birchwood Trust has supported families within the Birchwood Community for just over two years now. The trust now need to step up and help families understand the importance of healthy eating. Food insecurity and poor health are related and it is always cheaper and easier to purchase less healthier options. The trust want to show people that with a little thought and food waste management that it is achievable to provide healthy meals for families.

The families that access the foodbank would benefit from help regarding menu planning and access to cheap healthy food items.

Their Trust’s aim is to correlate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.