Your Choice, Your Voice Richard Downing Community Engagement Manager Leicestershire County Council

Your Choice, Your Voice Leicestershire Together has made £20,000 available to each of Charnwood’s 7 Area Forums for allocation through a Participatory Process Money has to be spent by March 2011 Participatory Process agreed through Charnwood Together

Your Choice, Your Voice - Process 1)Charnwood Together set priorities Supporting and developing young people Improving access to services Making the area safer Workshop – Generating & sharing ideas & putting them in order of priority 18 project ideas put forward 9 projects put to final vote 1)Priority ideas developed further into robust projects – co-ordinated by Task Group 2)Feedback from Task Group to Area Forum on how funding can be allocated in line with the workshop priorities 3)Charnwood Together agrees allocation of funding, in line with the recommendation by the Area Forum

Workshop feedback Do you agree with the following statement? a)I really enjoyed today’s workshop and I am glad I attended? 80% AGREED0% Disagreed b)I felt I had plenty of opportunity to share my ideas today 87% AGREED0% Disagreed c)I felt the way projects were prioritised was fair and inclusive? 80% AGREED10% Disagreed

Your Choice, Your Voice Task Group – Role: Work with project groups to ensure that priority projects are -APPROPRIATE - in line with the 3 priorities for the area - not duplicating, value for money -FEASIBLE -Can project be delivered by March SUSTAINABLE -Does project provide real solution with longer term benefit -Will project lead to problems further down the line

Your Choice, Your Voice After the workshops … Priority Projects Other Project Ideas Project Development TASK GROUP co-ordinates Forum Recommends allocation LSP Decides allocation Signposting Ideas are circulated to various funders, advisors and relevant officers to identify further opportunities for funding & support

Your Choice, Your Voice What are we doing today? Report from the Task Group on progress with the Priority Projects identified at the workshop Task Group has made recommendations on how best to allocate the Forum’s budget in line with the results of the workshop With Forum’s endorsement these recommendations will be passed to Charnwood Together for formal decision making

RankProject titleAmount requestedProposed Share of budget Recommendation 1Mountsorrel Youth Cafe This project is to contribute funding for a kitchen to be part of a wider development to provide an after school meeting place and clubs in Mountsorrel. The Task group understands that a Community Interest Company is being formed, they have already had some success in attracting funding, but without evidence of a robust business plan the Task group is concerned over the long term feasibility and sustainability of the project. They also question linkage with existing youth detached workers etc in Mountsorrel and the Mountsorrel Village Hall. £10,000 The Task group recommends that the Forum reserve £10,000 until the end of June 2010 to enable time for a robust business case to be produced. 2Woodhouse Eaves MUGA This project is about completing a Multi-Use Games area in Woodhouse Eaves for which the community has already been successful in raising a number of external grants. The total cost of the project is £34,340. Woodhouse Eaves PC; £10,000 Shires Grant; £ Local fund-raising; £7,821 Charnwood BC; £4,000 Garfield Weston Foundation £1500 This leaves a total of £ left to find. £ The Task group recommends that the Area Forum allocates £5,000 for the completion of the MUGA

2Friends of Birstall Swimming Pool Friends of Birstall Swimming Pool (a community-used pool at Longslade Community College) require funding to buy a pool cover, thus reducing heat loss and costs, and increasing long term viability. The total cost of the cover is £5,890 plus VAT. The Pool had faced possible closure a couple of years ago. Following discussion with the school it appears that if the Forum will contribute £5,000 the school will cover the rest. The Task group believes that more can and should be done by the College, the “Friends of” group, and the Parish Council to publicise the pool as a community resource contributing to the physical health and well-being of the whole community and beyond. The pool currently has 640 users per month, six other schools use it, five swimming clubs plus one to one tuition. Negotiations have taken place with the College to consider what contribution the school could make to increasing public awareness and usage of the pool. It was suggested that school should pay for improved “community” signage as well as improving lighting / access to the pool and to take a lead in co-ordinating improved and increased publicity for the pool, perhaps in conjunction with Birstall PC. If the cover is ordered through the school, this will mean the payment of VAT is not required, thus saving further money fron the Area Forum budget. £ 5,890 plus VAT was asked for … Recommend £ 5,000 The Task Group recommends that the Area Forum allocate £5,000 on the receipt of written guarantee from the school that it will provide the rest. 4 Portable Speed control signs This project seeks to address the concern of the local community about the continuation of speeding traffic in the locality. LCC Highways has given considerable support to Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves and the Parish Council supported the formation of a Community Speedwatch group after adopting the Parish Plan. The Task Group originally believed that, in view of the support given to Woodhouse Eaves for completion of a MUGA, the Forum would wish to support a more widespread geographical distribution of the Area Forum’s budget. At that time it seemed likely that approx £5,000 would be required from the Forum budget for the MUGA. Bearing in mind the excellent fund-raising that has been carried out to lessen the contribution of the Forum to the MUGA, the Task Group would now recommend support for this project. This would still mean that, overall Woodhouse Eaves receives less than originally anticipated. £3,000 would pay for one vehicle activated warning sign which could be rotated around “hot spots” in Woodhouse / Woodhouse £3,000The Task Group recommends support for this project. TOTAL AMOUNT UP TO £20,000£19,403.80This will use up almost all of the Forum budget…£ left unallocated.

Your Choice, Your Voice Updates at the next Area Forum & on the Community Forum Website