Agenda item

The Service Lead Place, Assets & Commercialisation presented the report which provided further information to members on the Re-opening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSS) programme that had recently been announced by central Government. The report also included the responses that had been received from Town and Parish Councils to questionnaires that were issued.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

approves option 2 (hybrid approach) Subject to the Council entering into a grant funding agreement with the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund for the activities to be claimed:

1.     Service Level Agreements were entered into with Town and Parishes as delivery partners in the project where relevant and as required by the funding where they were seeking to recover costs already incurred,  

2.     to engage with those towns that had responded and had requested assistance,

3.     to engage with those remaining towns that had not responded but where East Devon District Council’s own risk assessments had identified areas for action.

4.     That a small element of the funding (£10,000 in the first instance) was retained by East Devon District Council to lead on the measures identified as needed from the risk assessments (signage and stencilling), working alongside the towns and parishes that had responded,

5.     where possible and with the support of the Town or Parish, elements of delivery (signage and stencilling) were undertaken by East Devon District Council using the funding allowance retained by East Devon District Council,

6.     activities focus upon temporary public realm changes to ensure that reopening of local economies could be managed successfully and safely,

7.     in consultation with the towns and parishes seek to identify if there was a need for business-facing awareness raising activities to ensure that reopening of local economies could be managed successfully and safely and small scale public facing safety messaging in the Action Plan areas, and

8.     if further activities were identified that the Council could usefully implement that would take expenditure in excess of £10,000, that delegated authority was given to the Service Lead for Place, Assets and Commercialisation in consultation with the Strategic Lead for Finance and the Portfolio Holder for Economy and Assets to approve such an uplift.

REASON:

Following the responses received from a number of towns and parishes and the Council’s own town risk assessments, there was an emerging programme of works. The Council could put in place the necessary formalities required to facilitate the processing of financial claims, publicity requirements and record keeping to support those towns and parishes that were progressing with works.

The Council could offer assistance to those towns that had requested this and approach those remaining towns that had not responded to the questionnaire and offer assistance. Where issues had been identified work with towns and parishes to implement small scale measures (signage and stencilling) that East Devon District Council could claim directly for (without the need for formal Service Level Agreements).

Local Authorities in receipt of RHSS funding allocations (East Devon District Council) must had financial management and control procedures put in place for the RHSS Fund activity together with a process that any Delivery Partners (potentially other tier authorities) must also follow.