To consider the report of the Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration.

Resolved: That

(i)     Accepts the NLHF Delivery Grant Offer, approves the proposal to progress activities to secure permission to start from NLHF, and approves acceptance of the NLHF Delivery Grant on the terms set out in this report;

(ii)    Agrees that in the event of a shortfall in match funding, that priority be afforded to making up any shortfall from within the Capital Programme, which is likely to require a reprioritisation of funds from existing approved schemes;

(iii)   Delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Systems and Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, to agree the final details relating to project management and match funding; and

(iv)Delegates authority to the Director of Legal and Governance and

Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreements as required to     implement these recommendations.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration presented a report which provides an overview of the position and seeks approval to accept the grant offer and to progress activities to secure permission to start from NLHF.

In September 2023 the Council learned that its bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for grant funding for Longford Park was successful. NLHF needs to grant formal ‘Permission to Start’ by 20^th March 2024, 6 months after the grant notification letter was issued. To gain this permission, the Council needs to submit a number of documents covering governance arrangements, cashflow, evidence of match funding, funding plan to bridge any identified gap, plus evidence of the Council’s formal acceptance of the grant offer.

The Longford Park ‘People, Place and Nature’ project has the potential to contribute significantly to a number of key Council strategies and priorities relating to physical and mental wellbeing, sport and physical activity, biodiversity and access to nature, climate change adaptation and mitigation, skills development, green economy and volunteering.

The project also complements major local place shaping at Stretford Town Centre and The Civic Quarter, providing the primary major public park to meet the needs of planned residential growth, with strong physical and partnership links to the countryside of The Mersey Valley.

Following Executive approval in February 2023, a Delivery Phase bid for c£3.12m was submitted to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in May 2023 as part of a project with overall project costs of over £6.1m. This represented an increase in total project costs of £700k from the figure reported in February 2023 due to a second phase of detailed cost development being undertaken ahead of bid submission; the impact of inflationary pressures since the previous detailed costs were prepared in September 2022 and the need to provide additional activity planning resources within the project for the Delivery Phase on the advice of NLHF case officers.

After being considered at the NLHF Northern Funding Committee in September 2023, a decision was taken to offer Trafford Council a Delivery Grant of £3,118,260 based upon the payment percentage of 51%, a percentage figure consistent with the Development Phase grant.

The ‘Approved Purposes’ of the project were carried forward from the Delivery Phase and are used by NLHF to monitor progress, amended to reflect changed priorities:

Approved Purposes

(i)    Repair and conversion of Long Barn into a volunteering, training and skills hub.

(ii)   Improvements to Pets corner, cafe and Firswood Community Centre.

(iii)  Sports improvements (tennis courts, football pitches, cricket and disc golf), BMX pump track and youth zone.

(iv)  Extensive children's play area improvements.

(v)   Improvements to lighting, footpath, roads, entrances and access points across park.

(vi)  Restoration of Longford Hall footprint and portico, ha-ha and grand lawn restoration.

(vii)Restoration of art deco shelters, formal gardens (landscape and toilet block), walled gardens and community allotment.

(vii)  Creation of a shared use space for Scouts and community use at the Shippon  building.

(viii)             New furniture, seating, signage, litter bins and cycle parking.

(ix) Tree stock improvements, wildflower meadow creation, tree and shrub planting and enhancement of wildlife garden and pond.

(x)   Longford Brook de-culverting and daylighting.

(xi)   Creation of 2 new posts. One Senior Engagement Officer (FT 3.5years), one Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator (0.6 FTE 3 years).

(xii)Delivery of a 4-year engagement programme of activities and volunteering.

Councillor Evans asked the following questions –

(i)            What is daylighting?

(ii)          Volunteer hours valued at £68,000 which is three and a half hours. How does that feature?

(iii)         Who is the Non Heritage Council and Partner funding?

Councillor Evans referred to the £390,000 of funding short which could rise significantly if certain of the matched funding is not achieved. He asked how the value engineering would work on this.

The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration informed Members that daylighting was the opening up of areas which had been covered over. The volunteered hours are a legitimate matched funding offer, these volunteer hours are what the National Lottery fund is looking for. She would give a written response regarding the Non Heritage and Partner Council funding. The Executive Member acknowledged that there are gaps in the matched funding but at this stage it is inevitable. She informed Members that they would be looking at S106 contributions in future and the report refers to committed capital funding from the Place Directorate budget. She emphasised that we have several years for the matched funding to be realised so there is plenty of time to work through all the matched funding. She referred to the point about making cutbacks if necessary. She informed Members that she is confident that will not be the case.

Resolved: That the Executive:

(i)     Accepts the NLHF Delivery Grant Offer, approves the proposal to progress activities to secure permission to start from NLHF, and approves acceptance of the NLHF Delivery Grant on the terms set out in this report;

(ii)    Agrees that in the event of a shortfall in match funding, that priority be afforded to making up any shortfall from within the Capital Programme, which is likely to require a reprioritisation of funds from existing approved schemes;

(iii)   Delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Director of Finance and Systems and Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, to agree the final details relating to project management and match funding; and

(iv)Delegates authority to the Director of Legal and Governance and

Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreements as required to implement these recommendations.