Issue - meetings

To consider the proposed variation to an existing funding arrangement between Crewe Town Board, the Council (as accountable body for Crewe Town Board) and the Government’s Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities.

The Committee considered the proposed variation to an existing funding arrangement between Crewe Town Board, the Council (as accountable body for Crewe Town Board) and the Department of Levelling Up Housing & Communities in relation to three projects – Repurposing Our High Street project, Crewe YouthZone and Pocket Parks.

In relation to the Crewe YouthZone, the Committee were concerned that the Council could in the future be asked again to provide funding due to rises in capital costs and sought assurance that this would not be the case.  In response, it was stated that this had also been raised at the Crewe Town Board and the Head of Economic Development had been asked to write to OnSide YouthZones Charity to state that they could not rely upon the Towns Fund or the Council to cover any future funding gap.  The project was now moving towards the construction stage with any contacts being fixed tender prices. 

RESOLVED (unanimously):  That the Committee

1               approve the submission of a Project Adjustment Request to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to:

(a)  reduce the Towns Fund capital grant allocation to the Repurposing Our High Streets project budget from £1,450,000 to £1,132,144 (a reduction of £317,866 or 22%).

(b)  note the reduction in target outputs associated with the budget reduction in (a) above, detailed in Table 1 in the report.

(c)  increase the Towns Fund capital grant allocation to the Crewe YouthZone (Onside project at Oak Street) from £2,626,497 to £2,934,997 (an increase of £308,500 or 12%).

(d)  Increase the Towns Fund capital grant allocation for the Crewe Pocket Parks (Jubilee site) project from £174,634 to £184,000 (an increase of £9,366 or 5%).

2               approve adjustments to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy that reflect the recommendations above.

3        note the updated Towns Fund budgets for each project in Table 2 in the report and authorise the expenditure of grants for those projects being managed by the Council, and the payment of grants to those projects being managed by third parties in line with existing and future grant agreements.