EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL CABINET MEETING – 20 MAY 2015 DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS FUND – APPLICATION BY BONNYTON THISTLE FOOTBALL CLUB Report by Depute Chief Executive & Chief Financial Officer Economy and Skills PURPOSE 1 To present to Cabinet for determination a grant application to the Developers Contribution Fund from Bonnyton Thistle Football Club. The application is for grant funding (above the delegated limit of £15,000) in support of the payment of various professional fees and costs associated with the development of a new 3G football pitch at Townholm, Kilmarnock. BACKGROUND 2 On 23 June 2010, Cabinet agreed revised governance arrangements for the operation of the Developer Contributions Fund. This included the requirement for applications over £15,000 to be considered by Cabinet. The necessary revisions to the Scheme of Delegation were approved by Council at its meeting on 23 September 2010. At a subsequent meeting on 2 December 2010 with the Leaders of the SNP, Labour and Conservative Groups and the Planning Spokesperson, the process for ascertaining the views of Elected Members on submitted applications to the Developers Contribution Fund was agreed. 3 Council on the 12 March 2015 agreed to approve the asset transfer of land at Townholm, Kilmarnock to Bonnyton Thistle Football Club with proposed lease terms agreed comprising a rental charge of £80 per annum subject to the club demonstrating that they can secure the necessary funding to undertake the complete project. BONNYTON THISTLE FOOTBALL CLUB 4 Summary of Proposal – The club wish to develop a new high quality football facility including a full size floodlit 3G football pitch with changing facilities at Townholm, Kilmarnock. This will enable the club to better engage with the local and wider community in its activities. The club expect that this project will attract significant external funding. Approval has been obtained for the Community Asset Transfer in respect of the particular area of disused land at Townholm Kilmarnock. The project aims to increase involvement in sport, and healthy lifestyles for the local community and increase the membership of the club, whilst also supporting improved performance of the club members. The facility will also help to regenerate an area of the town that is currently in a derelict state. The requested grant will be used to cover feasibility, engineering, CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED architectural design, infrastructure surveys and contract administration costs and will allow the club to develop their proposals as part of their application to Sports Scotland. 5 Estimated Cost of Fees and Proposed Funding Package by Applicant : The total estimated cost as per the application is £25,920 and the proposed funding package is as follows:£920 Contribution from Bonnyton Thistle Football Club £25,000 Grant Requested from the Developers Contribution Fund 6 Previous Developer Contribution Fund Awards to applicant: The group have had no previous award from the Developer Contributions Fund. However, they have received funding of £9,636 in relation to the Community Asset Transfer of the land at Townholm, Kilmarnock. 7 Assessment Outcome: The assessment is positive on the basis that the club will be utilising funds presently shown in their bank account in support of the Sportscotland application for the main project and will also be undertaking extensive fundraising to deliver the wider building project. The Council’s Vibrant Communities Team is working closely with the club, together with Sport Scotland, and the Scottish FA and they are in regular dialogue with well-known sports consultants PSD. 8 Elected Members Views: Elected Members supported an indicative allocation of £25,000 for this project at the Development Contributions Fund meeting of 20 February 2013. 9 Proposed Source(s) of Funding from Developer Contributions: In the event of the application being approved by Cabinet, it is proposed to fund the full amount of £25,000 from available funding in the Northern Area Fund. 10 Recommendation: That the application for £25,000 is approved subject to the Council’s standard grant conditions. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 11 Proposals to utilise monies paid to the Council in terms of Policy TLR5 of the East Ayrshire Local Plan 2003 are required to support sport, leisure and recreational projects, having regard to the terms of the agreement which gave rise to the payment to the Council, in order to minimise any potential challenge. 12 Any offer of grant will be issued to the applicant following the appropriate authorisation, subject to the Council’s standard conditions and any specific conditions proposed. CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED FINANCIAL/HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS 13 In the event of Cabinet being minded to approve this application it is proposed that the contribution be paid from the following sources: (i) £25,000 from the current indicatively allocated balance of £62,099.86 remaining from the Developer Contribution Northern Area Fund. Sufficient funds are available to meet the application. There are no direct implications in relation to human resources. COMMUNITY PLANNING AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 14 The proposed project is in accord with the Community Plan. In particular, the proposed facility will allow more of the community to actively participate in sport thus improving health and wellbeing. RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 15 There are two risks associated with this project that should be mentioned at this stage. The first is that the project does not go ahead and the grant funds are effectively lost. This is not considered to be a significant risk as the consultations and responses to date carried out by the club with the help of Council officials have all been positive. Nevertheless it would be prudent to ensure that the appointment and development work carried out by the consultants is satisfactory before grant is released. Secondly as with all construction projects there are significant risks associated with implementation of the project. However the grant assistance will help to ensure that professionally competent advice is obtained by the club to develop and fully test the feasibility of the project, identify the risks and detail how they can be suitably addressed. Accordingly and as a condition of the grant, professional advisors will be required to have appropriate product liability/professional indemnity insurance and will be required to provide evidence of same. EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT 16 The grant will be utilised to design a facility that will cater for all abilities within the community. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that Cabinet agrees: (i) a grant award of £25,000 to Bonnyton Thistle Football Club from the Developer Contributions Fund for professional assistance, surveys and contract administration costs to develop a full size 3G floodlit football pitch and clubhouse at Townholm, Kilmarnock, subject to the Council’s standard grant conditions and those detailed in paragraph 15 above; and CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED (ii) to otherwise note the content of the report. Alex McPhee Depute Chief Executive & Chief Financial Officer Economy and Skills 14 May 2015 (CMcK/KD) FV – MK LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS 1. Cabinet Report – 23 June 2010: Developer Contributions Fund and Developer Contributions Sports, Leisure and Recreation Fund 2. Cabinet Report -18 February 2015: Transformation Strategy – Property and Estate Rationalisation Workstream –Response to East Ayrshire Leisure Trust Service Reviews. Senior officers wishing further information should contact Karl Doroszenko, Development Planning and Regeneration Manager, on 01563 576751. Implementation Officer: Michael Keane Head of Planning and Economic Development (01563) 576767. CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
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