To consider approval for the allocation of funding for the East Lindsey Investment Fund Plan.

1.     That the following allocations of budget from the East Lindsey Investment Fund (financed from the Corporate Priorities Reserve) be approved:

·       That £1m to launch the grant scheme for Pride in Place theme be approved and authority be delegated to the Director of Economic Development in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy to agree the grants policy to and to finalise the budget allocation between capital and revenue once this is known.

·       That £830,000 for the activities identified in Appendix 2 of the report referred under the Communities Development theme be approved.

·       That £2m to support the Tourism and Events theme and delivering the activities identified in Appendix 4 of the report referred be approved and it be noted that a further report will be brought for consideration by the Executive Board relating to unauthorised occupancy in Holiday caravans.

·       That £500,000 for business engagement and inward investment activities identified in Appendix 3 of the report referred under the theme of Business Support be approved and  the intention to bring forward proposals for the remaining activities in Appendix 3 of the report referred be noted.

2.     That the allocation of budget from the East Lindsey Investment Fund of £1m to provide grant support to the Woodland Trust as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report referred be approved, and authority be given to the Deputy Chief Executive (Programme Delivery) to enter that agreement subject to further legal due diligence.

3.     That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director theme leads in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder to utilise the above funds, as set out, to undertake delivery of activities and projects as identified in Appendices 1 to 5 of the report referred, including the procurement and appointment of consultants/contractors, provide staffing resource and award grants to achieve the objectives of each theme.

4.     That authority be delegated to the S151 in conjunction with the Director of Economic Development to agree the final split of resources required as an addition to the budget in respect of revenue and capital as required.

A report was presented to approve the allocation of funding for the East Lindsey Investment Fund Plan.

During his introduction, the Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy highlighted that Executive Board approved the £10m East Lindsey Investment Fund (ELIF) in September 2024, Minute No. 20 refers to support the priorities of making East Lindsey’s places welcoming, supporting events and attracting visitors, community development, and supporting business growth.  A budget allocation of £1m was allocated in December 2024 for the grant funds to communities across the East Lindsey district by extending the current GRASSroots programme.

Members were advised that the report presented the next phase of allocation of funding for the East Lindsey Investment Fund which had received a great deal of interest.  As set out in the report, it was proposed to allocate a further sum of £7.83m across all four priority themes.  The proposal included a wide range of activities and projects as well as increasing capacity within the team for accelerating delivery.

The full background and details were included at Sections 1 and 2 of the report, pages 13 to 15 of the Agenda refer.

In addition to the four themes set out in Section 4 (Pride in Place, Community Development, Business Support and Tourism and Events), the Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy was pleased to see that £1m to provide grant support to the Woodland Trust was included, as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.

Thanks were also expressed to all involved for the hard work undertaken with the fund.

The Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy highlighted that this funding cut across all portfolios of the Council and should be aptly renamed ‘Better East Lindsey Fund’ as it looked to make every life better.  He further referred to the funding for the Woodland Trust and suggested that a portion of this could be partitioned off for biodiversity and net gain units to sell on and make a return on the investment.  However, he acknowledged that there was a lot of work to be done with some themes being more detailed than others and that as an ongoing piece of work, other priorities may come forward or may change along the way.

The Portfolio Holder for Partnerships stated that it was a fantastic paper and represented the district with ‘bells and whistles’ and was exactly what Councillors needed to represent their communities and was a progressive step forward.  She also asked that her thanks be noted to the officers and Councillors who had worked hard on this funding initiative.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning highlighted that East Lindsey was a well-run district council and that he was proud to support the paper.  With regards to the ELIF Action Plan – Tourism and Events ‘Holiday Caravans’ at Appendix 4, page 28 of the Agenda refers, he advised that he had been part of positive conversations with colleagues and this would be a legacy to the Council as there had been issues with various aspects of caravan parks for a very long time.

The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Ageing highlighted that this was a tremendous opportunity for the district as there were few councils in the same position as East Lindsey to be able to provide this funding.  He was pleased that the themes covered everyone and that as a Council it should be very proud of this achievement.

In response, the Leader of the Council agreed that it would make a difference to both small and large communities and agreed that the Council was well run and had the ability to spend money in this way.  The Leader re-iterated his thanks to everyone involved for their hard work.

RESOLVED

1.     That the following allocations of budget from the East Lindsey Investment Fund (financed from the Corporate Priorities Reserve) be approved:

·       That £1m to launch the grant scheme for Pride in Place theme be approved and authority be delegated to the Director of Economic Development in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy to agree the grants policy to and to finalise the budget allocation between capital and revenue once this is known.

·       That £830,000 for the activities identified in Appendix 2 of the report referred under the Communities Development theme be approved.

·       That £2m to support the Tourism and Events theme and delivering the activities identified in Appendix 4 of the report referred be approved and it be noted that a further report will be brought for consideration by the Executive Board relating to unauthorised occupancy in Holiday caravans.

·       That £500,000 for business engagement and inward investment activities identified in Appendix 3 of the report referred under the theme of Business Support be approved and the intention to bring forward proposals for the remaining activities in Appendix 3 of the report referred be noted.

2.     That the allocation of budget from the East Lindsey Investment Fund of £1m to provide grant support to the Woodland Trust as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report referred be approved, and authority be given to the Deputy Chief Executive (Programme Delivery) to enter that agreement subject to further legal due diligence.

3.     That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director theme leads in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder to utilise the above funds, as set out, to undertake delivery of activities and projects as identified in Appendices 1 to 5 of the report referred, including the procurement and appointment of consultants/contractors, provide staffing resource and award grants to achieve the objectives of each theme.

4.     That authority be delegated to the S151 in conjunction with the Director of Economic Development to agree the final split of resources required as an addition to the budget in respect of revenue and capital as required.

Reasons:

1.     The proposals are in accordance with the Council’s approval of the East Lindsey Investment Fund in September 2024.

2.     The proposals set out in this report will help deliver the priorities of the Sub-Regional Strategy for the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership as well as the Growth and Prosperity Plan approved by the Council.

3.     The approval of this allocation will help deliver wide ranging benefits for the businesses and communities of East Lindsey as identified in the report.

Other Options:

Option 1:       Proceed as per the recommendations of this Report, which will focus on delivery, build capacity and commit to an inclusive and collaborative approach that will benefit the whole District.

Option 2:      Do nothing, which would result in the recommendations not being taken forward, with the opportunity to deliver a programme of investment not actioned and the wider benefits of the report detailed below will also not be realised.