Agenda item

We received an update report by Team Abergavenny on progress made to date. The Area Committee was also provided with details of business cases that had been rejected against the £30,000 capital funding pot which had been available to enhance Abergavenny Town Centre in preparation for the National Eisteddfod.  The business cases were outlined as:

·         A proposed canopy at Abergavenny Town Hall.

·         Abergavenny Community Centre – Request for funds and Business Plan.

·         Business Plan for Lighting Gantry Installation at the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny.

·         New Market Stalls in the Indoor Market.

The Team also outlined their opinion that:

·         Whole Place – there needs to be a mechanism put in place to identify where Team Abergavenny can provide support and be sustainable to the Town.

·         There is a need to have a democratic mandate in which the Town Team can work in cooperation with elected Members.

·         It was hoped that Area Committees would be provided with more funding.

·         The Town team will be adopting a more formal method to process its annual plan and it will be linked to the five year plan and submitted to the Bryn y Cwm Area committee for consideration.  The Town Team considers that once approved it will enable the Team to make bids for funding from suitable sources.

Having received the report and details of rejected business cases, the following information was noted:

·         Town / Community Councils can be engaged in the broader Monmouthshire County Council Wellbeing Plan.  A wellbeing assessment is being undertaken in Monmouthshire to identify key areas of vulnerability in the County.

·         In response to a question raised in respect of the £30,000 capital funding that had been available to the Town Team to enhance the town in the lead up to the Eisteddfod, this funding was no longer available.

·         In February 2015, the County Council had agreed to rescind the decision taken in 2010 to build a new library on the old cattle market site, Abergavenny, thereby releasing funding of £3.433m.  Of this sum, £2.2m available for the development of an Abergavenny Hub.  A sum of up to £50,000 is to be released to fund the costs of finalising the detailed designs and business case to be funded by prudential borrowing

·         It was considered whether funding could be clawed back from the new market at Penpergwm with a view to providing funding for some of the business cases outlined by Team Abergavenny.  With regard to the cases previously submitted, detail was provided as to why they were not appropriate for this funding pot or did not meet the criteria.

·         It was noted that Section 106 funding was being reviewed and it was hoped that this funding would be re-aligned to become the responsibility of Area Committees.

We resolved:

(i)            to request to Cabinet that any funding left over from the £2.2m be released for projects in Abergavenny town;

(ii)          that the Chair of the Bryn y Cwm Area Committee, the  Head of Governance, Engagement and Improvement and the Head of Community Led Delivery meet with representatives of Team Abergavenny with a view to improving communication.