Report / Annan Common Good Fund Sub Committee / 1 February 2012

ANNAN Common Good Fund – ApplicationSfor Funding AND USE OF THE JOHN BELL PLAYING FIELD

1.Purpose of Report

The reason for this report is to ask Members to considerapplications for funding from the Annan Common Good Fundand to consider increasing the charges for the use of the John Bell Playing field.

2.Recommendations

Members are asked to:-

2.1note free income availableof £3,934 for the Annan Common Good Fund remaining in the financial year 2011/12;

2.2consider granting funding to the application contained in Appendix 1 and funding for car park improvements at the John Bell Playing field as detailed in paragraphs 4.2 to 4.6; and

2.3considerincreasing the charges for the use of the John Bell Playing field from £51.90 to £54.50 as detailed at paragraph 5.3.

3.Considerations

3.1Parameters within which Common Goods and Common Good Funds should be administered have been set bearing in mind the fact that the Council is legally responsible for the administration of Common Goods and Common Good Funds, having regard to ‘the interests of the inhabitants of the area to which the Common Good related prior to 16 May 1975’ (i.e inhabitants of the former Burghs).

3.2Expenditure from Common Good Funds should normally be restricted to expenditure of the annual free income to the fund (i.e annual income from investments, rents etc, less expenditure on routine maintenance repairs, insurances and fees etc). The Council operates under a scheme of maximum delegation to Committees with the functions of Area Committees consisting of, amongst other things, ‘administration and oversight of local activities and services including Common Good and Trusts, and administration of budgets devolved to Area Committees’. Authority for the administration of the Annan Common Good Fund has been further delegated to this Sub Committee.

3.3The Annan Common Good Fund is managed by strict monitoring of receipts and expenditure and to ensure that the Funds are able to distribute free income as fully as possible.

4.Application for funding

4.1One application has been received for the Annan Common Good Fundfor £1,000. A Summaryof the applicationhas been provided at Appendix 1for ease of reference.

4.2A request for funding has been made by Police and Head Teacher of Hecklegirth Primary School for funding to implement restrictions to stop parents parking/stopping in a particular area of the John Bell car park at school drop off and pick up times and for measures to make the marked crossing more visible to drivers and recognisable as a crossing place.

4.3Parents are stopping/parking at the’ junction’ with the pedestrian path to Annan Academy and driving over the white line markers on to the path (see Appendix 2). Council Officers met with the Head Teacher of HecklegirthPrimary School and Police to observe parents’ actions and concluded that there was potential danger to the children at the crossing place and the ‘junction’.

4.4The Council’s Roads Officer suggested the following to alleviate the danger:

  • Install collapsible bollards along the white line at the ‘junction’ and either side of the crossing place (4 or 5 bollards)
  • Ground painted ‘No Stopping’ along the white lines
  • Change the existing crossing colour to black and white (Zebra Crossing style)

4.6Initial costings suggest that £2,000 would be adequate to implement all of the above measures and Members are asked to consider the request and, subject to agreement, award funding of up to £2,000.

4.7Sufficient funding remains this financial year to fund both applications in full.

5.Increase in Charges for the John Bell Playing Field

5.1The area of ground in Annan town known as John Bell Playing Field was given to the Royal Burgh of Annan from the estate of John Bell in 1950 for use as apublic park or playing fieldandis contained within the portfolio of the Annan Common Good Fund.

5.2The field is mainly used for fairs of up to 4 mechanical rides. A charge of £51.90 per operational day is levied (non-operational days are not charged). Should an operator bring 5 or more rides onto the site then a Public Entertainment License would be required; hire charges for the field would be increased proportionately.

5.3Charges for the Field were last increased from 1 April 2011. In order to maintain a reasonable income to the Annan Common Good Fund it is recommended that hire charges are increased by 5.2% in line with inflation (Retail Price Index November figure). A 5.2% increase would raise the charge for John Bell Playing Field by £2.69 to £54.50 per operational day (rounded to the nearest 10p).

6.Governance Assurance

The Finance Department have been consulted and are in agreement with the terms of the report.

6.Impact Assessment

As this report does not propose a change in policy, the formal adoption of a plan, policy or strategy, it is not necessary to complete an Impact Assessment.

Author(s)

NAME / DESIGNATION / CONTACT DETAILS
Julie Douglas / Area Committee Co-ordinator Annandale and Eskdale / Area Management Annandale and Eskdale
Council Offices
High Street
Annan DG12 6AQ
Tel: 030 3333 3000

Approved by

NAME / DESIGNATION / SIGNATURE
Justin Tracy / Director of Community & Customer Services /

Background Papers

Appendix - 1Summary of Grant Application

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Report / Annan Common Good Fund Sub Committee / 1 February 2012

ANNAN COMMON GOOD FUND APPLICATIONAPPENDIX 1

Reference / Applicant / Amount Requested
(£) / Project Costs
(£) / Other Funding Sources
(£)
ACGF69 / Wallacehill Cycling Club
(‘Tour DoonHame Cycle Race’) / £1,000 / See attached Sheet
Total: 36,095 / Unconfirmed
Magnox 20,000
D & G Council 8,000
Confirmed
Entry Fees 4,000
Own contribution 3,000
Lockerbie Trust – No award
Total: £35,000
Comments
The applicant requests funding towards the costs of staging the ‘Tour DoonHame’ Cycle Race which is an annual 3 day event over 3 or 4 stages (the only 3 day staged race in Britain other than the Tour of Britain). This year’s event will begin in Dumfries and run through Lochmaben, Lockerbie and finish in Annan and will be held over the Easter Weekend 2012. The organiser intends to hold the second stage within Annan itself and the applicant requests funding towards road closures and crowd barriers.
The applicant advises that there were approximately 1500 spectators at last year’s event and that EventScotland estimated that the event generated an estimated £130k for the Region.
The applicant states that the organisation holds balances of £4,000 but that this will be held in reserve for contingencies.
Previous Awards: None

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Report / Annan Common Good Fund Sub Committee / 1 February 2012

APPENDIX 1 (cont’d)

2012 DoonHame Cycling Race 3 Day Budget

Project Costs
Race Insurance / 300
Photo Finish Hire / 280
Riders Levies / 1,465
Marketing Fees / 1,920
Official Accommodation / 10,569
Road Closure Order / 1,372.24
Barrier Hire / 1,050
Officials Fuel Assistance / 2,903
Officials Subsistance / 1,920
Race Prize Fund / 6,455
Trophies / 90
Races Numbers / 77.70
Announcer’s Fee / 1,000
Commissaire Fees / 270
Police Race Escort Fees / 3,500
Sponsors Sticker etc / 621
Organ Expenses / 1,323
School Lets(2) / 369.76
Emergency First Aid & Rescue / 610
Total / 36,095.70

APPENDIX 2

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