Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1       Relevant Background Information

 

1.1    At its meeting in April 2012, the Strategic Policy & Resources Committee agreed to convene Area Working Groups (AWGs) to support effective ‘place-shaping’ and make recommendations on investment decisions for their local area including the Local Investment Fund (LIF) and the Feasibility Fund. 

 

1.2    LIF was established to support the delivery of key local regeneration projects in neighbourhoods and as a means for Members to connect with local communities in their area, in preparation for their formal role in community planning under the RPA.  SP&R Committee agreed on 23 March 2012 that there was a minimum level of investment through LIF of no less than £15,000 and unlikely to exceed £250,000 to ensure focus on more local investments and the opportunity for a broad spread of investment across the city.  North, South, East and West AWGs were allocated £1,127,500 each, with a proportionate amount of £490,000 for the Shankill area.

 

1.3    The Feasibility Fund was established as a ring fenced fund of £500,000 to enable initial feasibility work to be undertaken on proposed projects to bring them to a point where Members could decide if they should be progressed as Capital, Local Investment Fund or Belfast Investment Fund schemes.  SP&R at its meeting on 21st September 2013 agreed the governance arrangements for the Feasibility Fund and agreed that because no proposals were being taken forwarded in the 2012/13 financial year under BIF that each Area working Group would be able to ‘consider and recommend to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, a maximum of five Local Investment Fund proposals per area which should proceed to feasibility study stage’.

 

         Area Working Groups – Updates and progress to date

 

1.4    The Area Working Groups held their first meetings in June 2012 and each AWG has met on at least a monthly basis since this time. As part of this process, 62 Local Investment Fund project proposals have been recommended for funding by the AWGs and been approved in principle for funding by Strategic Policy & Resources.

 

1.5    Members will be aware that 20 projects totalling £1.26m received their funding agreements at the LIF event on 16^th May in the City Hall.  A full list of these is attached at Appendix A.  This event was very well attended by the successful groups and received very positive feedback. Due-diligence work is continuing on the other projects and Members, through the Area Working Groups, will be kept up to date of projects which have been through the due diligence process and received funding agreements.

 

         Election of Chairs

 

1.6    Members will recall that in April 2013 it was recommended that all Area Working Groups should elect a Chair. Members are asked to note that Area Working Groups have now elected their Chairman as outlined below.

 

            1.7

North	Cllr Danny Lavery	South	Cllr Kate Mullan
East	Cllr Tom Haire	West	Cllr Jim McVeigh
Shankill	To be nominated at next meeting

 

2.0    Key Issues

 

         May/June AWG Recommendations on LIF proposals

 

2.1    At the most recent round of AWG meetings, officers updated Members on the external meetings they have facilitated on the LIF proposals. In accordance with Council procedures, individual Members declared any conflicts of interest and this was noted in the minutes of the AWG. On the basis of the information presented, the following AWGs have made recommendations for the consideration of the Committee:

 

         East AWG

 

         LIF recommendations

 

            2.2

Proposal	Ref No.	Up to £	AWG Comments
Mountpottinger Methodist Church	ELIF026	£112,000
Short Strand Community Centre	ELIF015	£14,648	Committee is asked to note that it previously approved in principle (in September 2012) £80,000 for this   project. Subsequent discussions with the Group have revealed a gap in funding and the East AWG has recommended that they receive an additional £14,648 towards this identified shortfall

 

         Feasibility study

 

2.3    Members are asked to note that the East Area Working Group agreed in January 2013 to undertake a feasibility study on Templemore Avenue (ELIF012). However it has subsequently been noted that this project is being progressed by the East Belfast Partnership Board and that no feasibility study is therefore required. 

 

         West AWG

2.4    Members are asked to note that the West Area Working Group was taking place on Wednesday 19th June.  The following were being proposed for funding under LIF. Members will be updated if there are any changes to these proposals.

 

         LIF recommendations

 

2.5

Proposal	Ref No.	Up to £	AWG Comments
Upper Andersonstown Community Forum (St John the Baptist: Community Garden)	WLIF060	£40,000
Clonard Boxing Club	WLIF061	£20,000
Riverdale Residents’ Association		WAS £60,000	REMOVAL OF PROJECT FROM RECOMMENDED LIST OF APPROVED IN PRINCIPLE PROJECTS with the money being re-allocated to the two projects above

 

         Feasibility study recommendations

 

2.6    At their meeting on 21st April, the West Area Working Group received a presentation from the Springfield Charitable Association who were looking for feasibility support for a health and employment based development project in the former Peter Pan Bakery site and it was agreed that support should be provided to the Group.

 

2.7    Members are asked to note however that as outlined in 1.3 above, SP&R Committee had agreed that each Area Working Groups would be allowed to recommend ‘a maximum of five Local Investment Fund proposals per area which should proceed to feasibility study stage’. The proposal by the Springfield Charitable Association does not fit with this criterion as it was never proposed as a Local Investment Fund project and it is therefore recommended that feasibility support is not provided to this Group at this stage.

 

         South Area Working Group  

 

2.8    Intervention funding

 

2.9    Members are aware that £100,000 was made available to each Area Working Group for local interventions that would add value to the capital investments made through LIF.

 

2.10  In April, the SP&R Committee agreed the recommendation from the South Area Working Group to use a proportion of its intervention monies (£50,000) to support retail initiatives in South Belfast and also agreed that the Lisburn Road Business Association (LRBA) be allocated £15,000 from this budget (on the basis that the Association provide match-funding) to enable it to employ a Development Officer should benefit through assistance from this specified resource. 

 

2.11  Following this, officers from the Economic Development Unit worked with Legal Services and the LRBA on progressing the necessary legal agreements to secure the development officer post.  At this stage, LBRA were advised by the Council’s Legal Services that there would need to be a ‘funding agreement signed up to by LRBA which is subject to BCC’s funding terms and conditions’.  It was also highlighted that ‘the recruitment of the Development Officer will have to follow BCC recruitment guidelines and the monies will be subject to relevant outputs and performance indicators (as are all other funding agreements) in order that we can show best value for money in accordance with our Statutory obligations, and also to ensure that this funding is fully auditable.

 

         Members are asked to note that the LRBA have indicated that this is not what they had anticipated and that they wished for this to be brought back to Committee. Legal Services and officers from Economic Development have made it clear to the LRBA that if they ‘are not willing to sign up to a funding agreement then they cannot receive the funding and that If LRBA wish to use the monies for another purpose then they will have to go back to the Area Working Group with their new proposal and seek their consent to change which will in turn be required to be ratified by Committee’. It is therefore recommended that this is taken back to the South Area Working Group for further discussion.

 

3       Resource Implications

 

3.1    Human – Resources are currently allocated to individual projects

 

3.2    Financial – Proposed allocations as outlined in the report and summary detailed below:

 

AWG	(A) LIF Allocation	Amount allocated June 12- May 13 (B)	Proposals in this report (C)	(D) Projected Allocation (b) + (c)	Remaining amount (A) – (D)
East	£1,127,500	£1,000,852	£126,648	£1,127,500	£0
South	£1,127,500	£1,024,541.40	-	£1,024,541.40	£102,958.60
West	£1,127,500	£1,127,500	-	£1,127,500	£0
North	£1,127,500	£1,127,500	-	£1,127,500	£0
Shankill	£490,000	£438,000	-	£438,000	£52,000
TOTAL	£5,000,000	£4,718,393.40	£126,648	£4,845,041.40	£154,958.60

 

4       Equality and Good Relations Considerations

 

4.1    The overall LIF programme will be screened at regular intervals to ensure that the Council is fulfilling its obligations as part of the Equality Scheme as well as ensuring that it is in line with the Investment Programme’s underpinning principles related to good relations and balanced investment.

 

5       Recommendations

 

5.1    The Committee is asked to note the contents of this report and

 

-      note that 20 LIF funding agreements totalling £1.26m were given out on 16th May and that further work is continuing on the due-diligence of the other projects which have been approved in principle by Committee.  Members will be kept up to date, through the Area Working Groups, of future projects as they are awarded funding agreements after going through due-diligence

 

-      note the Chairs that have been elected for Area Working Group

 

-      approve in principle the allocation of Local Investment Funding as proposed by the East and West Area Working Groups – Members are asked to note that in relation to the West Area Working  Group this is a reallocation of money to 2 new projects as the West AWG have recommended that the Riverdale Residents’ Association project is removed from the funding list

 

-      note the position re the Feasibility Studies for East and West  i.e. that the Templemore Av feasibility study in East is no longer proceeding and the West proposal for feasibility for Springfield Charitable Association does not met the criteria for feasibility as agreed

 

-      note the advice  received from Legal Services regarding the money that was approved in principle to the Lisburn Road Business Association and recommend that this is brought back to the South Area Working Group for further discussion.

 

Appendix A

 

GROUPS IN RECEIPT OF FUNDING AGREEMENTS

ON 16th MAY 2013

 

LIF REFERENCE	PROJECT & GROUP	AWARD
NLIF020	Carrickhill Community Centre, Carrick Hill Residents Association	£15,000
NLIF022	PIPS Programme, PIPS	£60,000
NLIF041	Willowgrove Centre, Ballysillan Community Forum	£44,000
NLIF043	Benview Community Centre	£35,000
SLIF002	Harlequins Hockey Club	£30,000
SLIF038	TREE, Greater Village Regeneration Trust	£25,541.40
SLIF040	Windsor Women’s Centre	£70,000
SLIF054	St Malachy’s Youth Centre	£70,000
ELIF010	Fraser Pass, East Belfast Partnership	£30,852
WLIF011	Slí an Gaelthacta, Fáilte Feirste Thiar	£50,000
WLIF016	Tullymore Community Centre, Upper Andersonstown Community Forum	£41,000
WLIF023	Relatives for Justice, Glen Road	£34,000
WLIF025	Irish Language Cultural Resource Centre, Glór na Móna	£112,000
WLIF030	Community Restorative Justice Ireland, Andersonstown Road	£17,000
WLIF051	O’DonvanRossa GAC	£80,000
WLIF054	ColáisteFeirste	£250,000
WLIF055	Community Restorative Justice Ireland, Springfield Road	£27,000
WLIF059	Colin Glen Ropes Course, Colin Glen Trust	£61,500
ShLIF016	Conway Youth Centre, Church of God	£58,000
ShLIF018	Springmartin Mini Soccer Pitch,  Springfield Star Blackmountain	£150,000
	TOTAL FUNDING AGREED TO DATE	£1,260,893.40”

 

            After discussion, during which it was agreed that feasibility funding for Non Local Investment Fund projects had to be equivalent to Local Investment Fund feasibility amounts, the Committee adopted the recommendations.