Agenda item

Cabinet RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that a revenue grant of £261,000 be awarded to Cambridge Sport Lakes Trust towards the cost of an extension and improvements to the Visitor Centre at Milton Country Park.

The report and appendix considered by the Cabinet can be accessed using the following link to the Council's website (www.scambs.gov.uk) - Agenda item 5 refers. In addition, copies are available to view in the Members’ Room. Please contact Democratic Services if you wish to receive a hard copy, telephone (01954) 713016

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Council RESOLVED that a revenue grant of up to £261,000 be awarded to Cambridge Sports Lake Trust towards the cost of an extension and improvements to the Visitor Centre at Milton Country Park. 

During debate of this item Council resolved unanimously, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1, to suspend Standing Order 12.5 for the duration of the item to allow debate to exceed thirty minutes.

Councillor RMA Manning moved and Councillor MP Howell seconded the recommendation of the Cabinet that a revenue grant of £261,000 be awarded to Cambridge Sports Lake Trust (CSLT) towards the cost of an extension and improvements to the Visitor Centre at Milton Country Park.

In moving the recommendation, Councillor Manning set out the background to the application for grant aid by CSLT. During the discussions which had led to the transfer of the park to CSLT, it had been established that the visitor centre required improvement; however, the Council had not been able to make any financial commitment to support this work at this stage. The Cabinet considered that CSLT had provided a realistic and robust business plan and that its application should be supported to enable the Council to contribute to the provision of a successful and sustainable recreational facility for the occupants of major developments. Councillor Manning provided an update on discussions which had taken place since the Cabinet meeting which, he was pleased to report, had resulted in a proposal by the Cambridgeshire County Council, as part-owners of the park, to match-fund any contribution by the district council. Such match funding would have the effect of reducing the Council’s contribution to £130,500.

In anticipation of match-funding being formally made available by the Cambridgeshire County Council, Councillor SM Edwards moved and Councillor Mrs SM Ellington moved an amendment in the following terms (additional words marked in bold italics):

‘That a revenue grant of up to £261,000 be awarded to Cambridge Sports Lake Trust (CSLT) towards the cost of an extension and improvements to the Visitor Centre at Milton Country Park.’

In accordance with Council Standing Order 14.6(b), the mover and seconder of the original Motion gave consent for the amendment to be incorporated within it, consequently the original Motion stood altered and the amendment withdrawn.

Councillor D de Lacey moved and Councillor MJ Mason seconded a procedural Motion under Council Standing Order 13(d) that the matter be referred to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee for further examination before being resubmitted to Council with full relevant documentation. Members speaking in support of this Motion considered that there were several significant questions which required satisfactory answers before Council could consider itself in a position to make an informed decision on the grant request, specifically those relating to the proposed match-funding arrangement and CSLT’s future viability.

The Procedural Motion, on being put, was declared lost, with 15 Members voting in favour, 30 against and two abstentions.

During debate of the substantive Motion, some Members welcomed the prospect of match funding by the Cambridgeshire County Council and considered that it was appropriate for the Council to support an important community facility which was valued by residents and which contributed to the provision of an important green wedge to the north of Cambridge. Even in the event that the park reverted to the Council’s ownership in future, the proposed investment in this capital scheme would mean that the Council had control of a high-quality facility which could generate significant future community benefit.

Other Members considered that making an award of up to £261k to CSLT would constitute an inappropriate use of the Council’s limited resources, especially to an organisation which had already received a payment of £250k from the Council at the time of transfer, and whose long-term viability was questionable.  The award of such a substantial sum of money to a single project sent a negative message to communities around the district who wished to apply to the Council for grant funding through established procedures.

The view was expressed that this award, if approved, should be the last made to CSLT. In response to these concerns, the Leader of the Council stated that Cabinet intended this award to be the last made to CSLT, and that no future applications for funding would be entertained.

Council was advised that the CSLT’s accounting year ended 30 September 2008, and that the organisation would submit its accounts within the statutory deadline of 31 July 2009. 

The proposal, on being put, was declared carried, the voting being recorded as follows:

FOR: (30)

AGAINST: (12)

ABSTAIN: (4)

It was therefore RESOLVED that a revenue grant of up to £261,000 be awarded to Cambridge Sports Lake Trust (CSLT) towards the cost of an extension and improvements to the Visitor Centre at Milton Country Park.