UKSPF 2023/4 Quarter 1 Update:
In July 2023 the Department for Levelling up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) confirmed that the End of Year Report submitted in May 2023 for the year 2022/23 was approved, this also confirmed our approach to the underspend from Year 1 is accepted. We have also returned the Memorandum of Understanding and should receive the grant for Year 2 shortly.
Rural Fund: The authority has been allocated £134,932 for this financial year, the first round for submissions was opened in April and closed in June. The submissions were reviewed by a panel in July, further information is required on those that have made it through the initial filtering stage, this includes detailed costings and project delivery timeline. The panel will then come back together in September to review and finalise Year 1 projects.
Year 2 projects and an update:
|
Intervention |
Project |
Detail |
2023/24 budget |
Amount spent: |
£ Committed |
Q1 Update: |
|
E6: Local arts, cultural, heritage & creative activities |
Project A - Building Pride in Place through promotion of the Town Centre and Events. |
Creative communities fund for local organisations and groups to support events |
£35,830 |
£30,000 |
£0 |
19 applications were received for the last round of which 11 will be awarded grants. |
|
Literature Festival |
£15,000 |
£0 |
£0 |
The event will be held in October, organising and advertising for the event has begun. A company has been commissioned to support the delivery of the event. |
||
|
Iggy Sculpture Trail |
£60,000 |
£510 |
£0 |
Locations for the sculptures has been agreed, and an artist to produce the sculptures has been commissioned. The trail will be supported by a digital trail app, that has been procured and is currently being designed. |
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|
Equipment purchases to support events |
£2,751 |
£62 |
£2,510 |
£2,510 has been committed to purchase a set of temporary exhibition walls, and 2 microphones have been purchased as well. |
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|
Arts Carnival |
£20,000 |
£20,000 |
£0 |
Due to adverse weather the original date for the Arts Carnival was cancelled, it has been rescheduled for Saturday 9th September. |
||
|
Partner for Elmer 2 |
£40,000 |
£0 |
£0 |
Contract is in the process of being signed. |
||
|
Project C- A Community Arts Hub & Maker Space |
Feasibility Study |
£5,000 |
£0 |
£3,200 |
The final feasibility report was received at the end of July. |
|
|
E8: Campaigns to encourage visits and exploring of local area |
Project A - Building Pride in Place through promotion of the Town Centre and Events. |
Advertising budget to promote events across all channels |
£15,000 |
£3,924 |
£0 |
The majority has been allocated to promote events later in the year. |
|
Borough Insight Events and Town centre focussed |
£30,000 |
£0 |
£0 |
This will be spent on the Autumn 2023 edition of the magazine. |
||
|
Promotional video for business and events in TC |
£5,000 |
£0 |
£0 |
This will be used later in the year to capture footage of events. |
||
|
E9: Impactful Volunteering and/or Social action Projects |
Project B- A Safe and Attractive Town Centre achieved through Greening and Lighting |
An externally commissioned green Volunteering Project to Improve Town Centre Green Spaces, Increase Volunteering and Improve Wellbeing. |
£60,000 |
£0 |
£0 |
Five sites have been worked with 18 volunteers involved. The sites are Maidstone Community Support Centre, Trinity House, Brenchley Gardens, Fairmeadow and planters in the Town Centre. |
|
Management Overheads |
£9,897 |
£2,474 |
£7,423 |
|
||
|
Total: |
£298,478 |
£57,480 |
£75,302 |
. |
||
|
£132,782 |
|
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