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Report to:
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Lead Member for
Transport & Environment
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Date of
meeting:
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22 May 2023
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By:
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Director of
Communities, Economy and Transport
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Title:
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Community Match
Schemes for 2023/24
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Purpose:
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To authorise
expenditure for 2023/24 as contribution towards Community Match
schemes
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RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Lead Member for
Transport and Environment is recommended to:
(1)
Agree that
£30,000 of match funding is allocated towards the Blackboys
Community Match speed limit reduction scheme for detailed design
work in 2023/24 and construction in 2023/24; and
(2)
Delegate authority
to the Director of Communities, Economy & Transport to approve
the 50% match funding contribution for the scheme in Table 1 up to
a maximum contribution of £50,000 once the design and
construction costs are known.
1
Background Information
1.1.
The Community Match initiative
was launched by the County Council in 2014. The initiative offered
the opportunity for local communities in East Sussex (typically a
parish/town council or community group) to take forward schemes
identified as a local priority, but not assessed to be of
sufficient priority to be delivered using County Council funding
alone through the Council’s capital programme of local
transport improvements.
1.2.
The Community Match process
begins with a feasibility study to assist Parishes and communities
in identifying possible solutions to locally identified traffic or
transport issues and determining cost estimates. The feasibility
study is undertaken by East Sussex Highways and is funded by the
parish/town council, residents’ group or organisation
promoting the scheme. Many potential schemes do not progress beyond
the feasibility stage as it becomes clear that the scheme is not
feasible or there is not agreement among local residents and
businesses about the scheme proposals.
1.3.
If a parish/town council or
community group support the measures suggested in the feasibility
appraisal, they can apply to the County Council for Community Match
funds to take the scheme forward to detailed design and
construction. The maximum financial input from the County Council
is £50,000 per scheme, which needs to be matched by the
parish/town council or community group. The feasibility appraisals
are only able to give approximate scheme costs and more detailed
scheme costs can be provided to applicants as more design work is
undertaken. As part of the Community Match funding applications,
the relevant County Councillors are asked whether they are
supportive of the proposed community match schemes in their
division.
2
Supporting Information
Community Match schemes for
2023/24
2.1 The Community Match budget for 2023/24 is
£250,000.
2.2 Although
there have been many Community Match feasibility studies requested,
only one application has been received requesting funding to take a
scheme forward. It is important that projects have strong support
from the local community and that they comply with relevant County
Council policies.
2.3 A summary
of the scheme, together with estimated total costs, community
contribution and Community Match Fund contributions, is shown in
Table 1 below. The community contribution will be at least 50% of
the detailed design and construction costs for the scheme. The
final costs will likely vary from the current estimate once the
detailed design has been undertaken and the scheme fully costed.
Therefore, the level of Community Match Fund contribution allocated
to the project, with a maximum contribution of £50,000, and
in parallel the level of community contribution may change
depending on the final cost. The County Councillor for the scheme
has indicated his support.
Table 1:
Indicative scheme costs
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Scheme
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Indicative Total cost
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Indicative Community contribution
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Indicative ESCC Community Match Fund
contribution
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Framfield Parish Council - Scheme to reduce speed limit to
40mph on B2192 at Blackboys from Hollow Lane to Brownings Farm
(current 50mph limit signs north of the village).
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circa £60,000
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£30,000
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£30,000
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Risks
2.4
Communities will be recharged their share of the detailed
design and construction work. In addition, for Community Match
schemes there is a notable risk around delivering schemes that
include speed limit or parking changes which require a Traffic
Regulation Order (TRO), and the increase in costs that comes with
delivering these types of schemes due to the additional resource
and administration required. If formal objections to TROs are
received and cannot be resolved by discussion with the objector,
they must be considered by Members at a meeting of the County
Council’s Planning Committee. This process adds both time and
cost to the scheme.
3 Conclusion and Reasons for
Recommendations
3.1 3.1
The Community Match programme
continues to provide the opportunity for town/parish councils,
local resident groups and organisations to secure match funding to
enable local priority schemes to be delivered which otherwise would
not come forward using County Council funding alone through the
capital programme of local transport improvements. From the
£250,000 allocation for 2023/24, there is sufficient funding
available to provide the community match funding requests to
deliver the scheme at Blackboys for which an application has been
submitted.
3.2 Therefore, the Lead
Member is recommended to allocate an initial £30,000 of
community match funding to the speed limit reduction scheme at
Blackboys. It is recommended that the Lead Member delegates
authority to the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to
approve the 50% match contribution from the Community Match Fund,
up to a maximum of £50,000 once the design and construction
costs are known.
Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport
Contact Officer:
Nicholas Mitchell, Principal Scheme Development Officer
Tel. No. 01273 336627
Email: nicholas.mitchell@eastsussex.gov.uk
LOCAL
MEMBERS
Councillor Chris
Dowling.
BACKGROUND
DOCUMENTS
None.