Agenda item

(Asset Management & Economic Development Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-037-2016/17).

(1)        That the application criteria for the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund, for the remainder of 2016/17 and throughout 2017/18, be widened to allow non-town centre related projects and general economic development opportunity projects to be supported and funded; and

(2)        That the fund be renamed the ‘Epping Forest District Economic Opportunities Fund’; and

(3)        That District Development Funding be requested from the Council in the sum of £35,000 for 2017/18 to develop the work of the Epping Forest District Economic Opportunities Fund.

The Portfolio Holder for Asset Management & Economic Development presented a report on the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that, during 2013/14, the Council had agreed to fund a £35,000 Town Centres Fund which enabled a set of Partners to undertake projects to support the local main High Streets. This fund was again made available during the 2014/15 financial year to enable town centre partnerships to make further project bids. It was made available again in 2015/16, although at this point it was also agreed to widen out the eligibility of the fund to enable smaller centres in the District to bid for funding, as well as to allow Council Economic Development Officers to propose projects and in 2016/17 the eligibility criteria was widened further again to cover all properly constituted groups in the District.

The Portfolio Holder reported that, for the remainder of 2016/17, a further widening of criteria to allow non-town centre and non-village centre projects was proposed, facilitating more general economic development projects and objectives to be supported. It was also proposed to rename the fund to the “Epping Forest District Economic Opportunities Fund” to reflect the wider scope of the Scheme.

Cllr Mohindra, as Finance Portfolio Holder, strongly endorsed the proposals; however, Cllr Philip welcomed the use of the underspends for the Scheme from previous years rather than requesting further budget allocations as he was not convinced that the Council was getting good value for money from the projects funded by the Scheme. The Portfolio Holder acknowledged the concerns of Cllr Philip, but stated that a number of the projects had been worthwhile and Officers had reduced the scope of some projects to ensure that the Council obtained value from the projects. Cllr Stavrou also expressed scepticism about the value of the Fund, but welcomed the widening of the scope of the Fund and the increased involvement of Officers.

Decision:

(1)        That the application criteria for the Town & Village Centres Opportunities Fund, for the remainder of 2016/17 and throughout 2017/18, be widened to allow non-town centre related projects and general economic development opportunity projects to be supported and funded;

(2)        That the fund be renamed the ‘Epping Forest District Economic Opportunities Fund’.

Reasons for Decision:

Making these funds available for the town centre partnerships, smaller District centres and other appropriately constituted organisations to bid for, encouraged them to think creatively about how they could sustainably promote their Town and District centres and create initiatives that had a lasting impact on the shopping centre economy. By widening eligibility to take part in the scheme, these benefits could be spread to the wider economy and have an impact on the economies of smaller centres throughout the District. By encouraging District-wide initiatives, the impact of this investment could be further widened to benefit other local economies elsewhere in the District.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not widen the criteria of the Fund; however, this would not enable the benefits of the Scheme to be spread to the wider economy.

To discontinue the Fund; however, this would prevent the District centres from benefiting from the investment provided by the Scheme.