Agenda and draft minutes

Members had agreed at a previous meeting that Councillor Baker would act as Chair.

There were none.

There were none.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the CIL Neighbourhood Panel, which has been tasked with allocating £128,474 of CIL contributions to local community initiatives in unparished areas around Cheltenham. He was pleased to note the community engagement which resulted in 27 bids, and the panel had come up with a system to process these to ensure that as many people as possible benefitted from Cheltenham’s growth and prosperity.  It was unfortunate that not everyone could be satisfied on this occasion, but this is an ongoing process and there will be more money and more meetings in the future, and groups are welcome to reapply. 

He explained that the panel had gone through all the allocations at two previous meetings, and tonight’s meeting was to confirm their recommendations before passing them to Cabinet to sign off.

The Chair ran through all the applications as set out in the agenda document, outlining the amount and purpose of each bid, the reasoning behind the panel’s decision-making on each case, and their final decision to grant the full amount requested, part of that amount, or not to award a grant on this occasion. 

Members commented on various applications as follows:

2.  Bournside Safety Crossing

Councillor Seacome noted that speed bumps have already been installed to slow traffic, but a crossing will be a good additional safety measure.  He asked for confirmation that any further work would be carried out by GCC.

7.  Vision 21 – Planet Cheltenham

Councillor Joy was pleased that climate projects were included and to see the amount already secured and CBC’s proposed contribution.  She thanked Antony and Raechel for their hard work identifying funding.

The Chair pointed out that if proposed projects don’t materialise for any reason, the grant fund will be returned to CBC, and suggested that Cabinet may want to consider an appropriate time scale.

11.  Gas Green Youth and Community Centre

Councillor Joy said she has spoken to the person who submitted this bid, an ambitious project which didn’t quite fit the criteria.  She has committed to help them find alternative funding, and wanted to make the same offer informally to other projects, not wanting to give priority to any of the failed bids.  She is happy to be contacted and have a conversation about it.

19.  Park ward, feasibility study for safe crossing to Westal Green 

Councillor Seacome felt that this would not work as a road safety solution, resulting in two sets of traffic lights within 50 yards of each other.  He thought a better remedy would be to improve the pedestrian access from the existing crossing to the garage.

Councillor Joy felt a re-evaluation of the area is needed.  She is keen to promote active travel, and if there is strong local demand for a new approach or crossing here, there could be other ways to pursue it.  Tracey Birkinshaw, Head of Planning, suggested passing the request to Gloucestershire Highways and making a connection between them and the person who submitted the bid. Councillor Joy said she was happy to do this.

There were no further comments on any of the bids.

Councillor Baker said £128,355 of a possible £128,474 had been allocated, and he thanked councillors and officers for their careful consideration and hard work.

Councillor Horwood, Cabinet Member for Customer and Regulatory Services also thanked Members and officers for a very thorough job, saying he was impressed by the detail and care with which they had considered all the bids.  He also thanked all the community organisations and applicants who had taken the trouble to apply; although some had not got what they wanted, he recognised the huge amount of effort put in by communities across Cheltenham and felt it had been a very positive process.