Purpose

To award community area grants and local highways and footways improvement funding in relation to Tidworth Area Boardas follows: 

Community Area Grants 

ABG1399 – Rural Youth Outreach Project £5000.00 

LHFIG 

15-23-01 – Empress Way, Ludgershall – Road Marking Replacement - £1500.00 subject to £500 from Ludgershall Town Council. 

15-23-10 – Meerut Road, Tidworth – Railings - £1500.00 subject to £500 from Tidworth Town Council. 

Decision

Following consultation with officers I confirm the grants and awards set out in this report.

This decision was published on 19 December 2023 and will come into force on 29 December 2023.

Reasons for the decision

Tidworth Area Board has three unitary Members. It is formally a Sub-Committee of the Eastern Wiltshire Area Committee, which includes Pewsey Area Board and Marlborough Area Board.

A substitute arrangement exists between the three Area Boards, allowing them to be quorate for periods of illness or other known absences.

At its meeting on 6 November 2023 one of the Members was unable to attend at very short notice due to a vehicle issue. As this was an unforeseen absence it was not possible to arrange a substitute. The meeting was therefore inquorate and unable to take any formal decisions on grants or other matters.

The next scheduled meeting of the Area Board is 18 March 2024.

The grant application remaining to be determined is for £5000, which is beyond the limit of the delegation arrangements for Area Boards. It is therefore not possible for the Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager to take the decision in consultation with the Members of the Area Board.

Whilst an extraordinary meeting could conceivably be arranged, it is not considered a practical or reasonable option to arrange what would be a very short meeting solely for the purposes of considering the grant applications.

Given the lack of quoracy at the meeting on 6 November 2023 was through no fault of the Members of the Area Board, the particularly lengthy gap until the next scheduled meeting, and the potential negative impact on local projects if the decisions are not made, the Leader has agreed to take the decision under his executive authority due to the exceptional circumstances in this instance. In general, simply not determining applications in time for a specific meeting would not justify taking the decision through alternative means.

Alternative options considered

1.    To determine the decisions at the next scheduled meeting of the Area Board or the Leader to determine the decisions following consultation with the Area Board Members.