Brockley votes: how the Assembly money was allocated
Cllr Foxcroft has kindly sent us a report from the recent Brockley Assembly, which she chaired. The meeting featured a vote on which local projects to fund this year. She writes:
The main item on the agenda was allocating the 2012/13 Brockley Local Assembly Fund. 12 projects had submitted bids for funding and there were three categories.
Before the Assembly heard each group’s presentation, they had to decide what to do with the unallocated money in categories A and B because less money had been applied for than was available. The meeting had the choice to roll the money over into Category C or to use it to commission projects in areas that did not bid. The Assembly choose to rollover the money to category C.
Category A – projects which had bid for £1-500
· Tyrwhitt Road Neighbourhood Beautification Programme (Tyrwhitt Road Neighbourhood Watch) - £500
· Christmas theatre trip for local families who have children under 5 years old (Brockley Parents Forum) - £200
Both of these projects were approved by the Assembly and will receive all of the funding that they bid for.
Category B – projects which had bid for £501-1500
· Hatcham Village Big Lunch 2013 (New Cross Learning) - £1000
· Toys and play equipment for St John’s Baby and Toddler Group (St John’s Baby and Toddler Group) - £750
· Ambassadors Course: two one day pilot training courses for young people 8-12yrs (Tanners Hill TRA Garden Committee) - £680.05
All of these projects were approved by the Assembly and will receive all of the funding that they bid for.
Category C – projects which had bid for £1501-5000
There was a total of £11,870 available in this category. Seven projects applied for funding:
· Threadz: girls-only fashion project raising the aspirations of young women in Brockley (Peabody) - £5000
· Educational experience for three ages of young people (Somali Education Development Centre) - £2000
· Continued improvements to Wickham/Manor Mews to create a useable and maintained space for the local community (Wickham Mews Residents) - £3000
· Breakspears Mews Community Garden (Breakspeares Mews Community Garden) - £5000
· Tree planting programme in Brockley ward – Brockley Society - £2400
· A mural on the eastern wall of the railway arch over Brockley Road, near Brockley Cross (Brockley Cross Action Group) - £4170.05
· Youth football for activity and health (Junior Reds FC Titans) - £2870
Of the seven projects, three received all of their funding: Brockley Society; Breakspears Mews and Wickham Mews. The Peabody project received partial funding of £1470.
It was great to see so many groups looking for funding for local projects to improve their area. It's a shame that the council has had to reduce the amount of money available to local assemblies due to the cuts to council funding from the coalition government. However as a Labour group on the council, we're committed to maintaining local assemblies as a voice for the local community.
