Content

In relation to the allocation of
£27,750.00 that was returned from the Communities and Place
theme due to a project not being deliverable within Year 4 of the
UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Portfolio Holder for Economic
Growth, Regeneration & Leisure has decided the following:
a)To award £10,00.00 to The Harwich Electric Palace Trust;
and
b) To award £17,750.00 to Manifest Theatre.

Reasons for the decision

The Communities and Place Open Call funding of
£138,101.00 for UKSPF, along with allocations for the other
two priorities for UKSPF, this was fully awarded, with
recommendations from a panel of Tendring District Council officers
on 9 July 2025 and a decision by the Portfolio Holder for Economic
Growth, Regeneration & Tourism on 22 July 2025 The
highest-scoring projects received grant offer letters setting out
the grant terms and conditions. All funding for the REPF was also
fully allocated following the same process to the projects
receiving the highest scores.
One of the grant recipients awarded funding under the Communities
and Place priority for UKSPF has since returned their grant after
being unable to deliver the approved project. As a result, Tendring
District Council now has £27,750.00 in returned grant
funding.
The returned funding of £27,750.00 was re-offered to
community-led projects that were unsuccessful in the previous round
of the REPF. The REPF projects were scored under the criteria that
was agreed on the Cabinet Report on the 23 May 2025.
Four projects were identified because their proposals align with
the Communities and Place priority and achieved the highest scores
among the unsuccessful applicants.
Three of the identified projects retuned a completed application
form. The applications were scored by a panel on the 16 March 2026.
Two of the applications received the same score: The Harwich
Electric Palace Trust and Manifest Theatre.
Following discussion, the panel has agreed on the following
approach for allocating the funding:
•Award £10,000.00 to The Harwich Electric Palace Trust,
as their application confirms that the project can still proceed
and be delivered with the minimum funding of
£10,000.00.
•Award the remaining £17,750.00 to Manifest Theatre, as
their cost breakdown includes a contingency of £5,640.00,
which would offset the £2,250.00 shortfall.

Alternative options considered

Not to reallocate the funds and return the
money to MHCLG.