Agenda item

(Lead Member: Cllr D. Jeffery, Director: Alan Reiss)

Resolved: That the Combined Authority:

a)    notes the outcome of the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) process in West Yorkshire, including the confirmed funded projects, Appendix 1 of the submitted report, and project appraisal process.

b)    authorises the Managing Director to enter into a funding agreement with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on behalf of the Combined Authority for an amount up to £2,539,429.

c)     authorises the Managing Director to enter into a funding agreement with the seven Project Deliverers for an amount up to £2,489,638, as required by Government, acting as Lead Authority for the Fund in West Yorkshire.

d)    indicatively approves £306,604, funding from the Single Investment Fund to create a test-case for establishing low carbon communities in Calderdale, whilst creating opportunities for residents to develop skills and build the foundations of long-term career and sustainable futures, in response to the West Yorkshire Community Renewal Fund Prospectus, with full approval to spend being granted once the project has progressed through the assurance process.

e)    delegates to the Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee, the approval of the project to pass through to Decision Point 4 totalling no more than £0.31m of funding from the Single Investment Fund.

The Combined Authority considered a report on the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) process in West Yorkshire.

The UKCRF had been announced in March as a £220 million fund aimed at supporting ‘in need’ communities across the UK, and intended to trial new funding approaches in preparation for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which would be delivered in 2022. The Combined Authority had submitted 17 bids to the UKCRF and had been notified in November that seven had been successful. Members noted their disappointment with this result, particularly regarding Calderdale, as no schemes in the district had been funded despite it being identified as a priority area by the Government.

Members criticised the lack of feedback regarding unsuccessful bids, as it was felt that this could potentially lead to poor outcomes with UKSPF bids in the future, and would continue to push for feedback going forward. The Combined Authority had submitted its own feedback to the Government on the overall process to assist with delivery of the UKSPF, and had proposed that greater involvement of Local Authority Partners, such as a letter of support from the Local Authority, would be a useful requirement.

It was noted that since the papers were published, it had been determined that one of the successful bids, the Buck Wood Community Woodland Masterplan project, was unable to proceed. Government had been notified of this and funding would not be granted for this project; it was understood that similar situations had occurred for projects in several other Mayoral Combined Authorities nationally. The Combined Authority had approached Government to seek the funding remaining allocated to the region.

Due to the lack of funding received through UKCRF by Calderdale, the Combined Authority proposed to fund a high-scoring project, ‘Greener Together’ for approximately £300k from the Single Investment Fund. This project aimed to retrofit social housing and increase greater awareness of climate and green energy in the community, and would act as a pilot that could be built upon. The representative for Calderdale thanked Members of the Combined Authority for their support in this.

The difficulties created by the bidding process were discussed by Members, and the need for greater devolution was reiterated. Concerns were also raised about the relatively low level of per capita levelling up funding received by the region compared to neighbours.

It was noted that as the announcement of successful bids had been delayed, the deadline for delivery of successful projects had been extended to 30 June 2022.

Resolved: That the Combined Authority:

a)    notes the outcome of the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) process in West Yorkshire, including the confirmed funded projects, Appendix 1 of the submitted report, and project appraisal process.

b)    authorises the Managing Director to enter into a funding agreement with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on behalf of the Combined Authority for an amount up to £2,539,429.

c)     authorises the Managing Director to enter into a funding agreement with the seven Project Deliverers for an amount up to £2,489,638, as required by Government, acting as Lead Authority for the Fund in West Yorkshire.

d)    indicatively approves £306,604, funding from the Single Investment Fund to create a test-case for establishing low carbon communities in Calderdale, whilst creating opportunities for residents to develop skills and build the foundations of long-term career and sustainable futures, in response to the West Yorkshire Community Renewal Fund Prospectus, with full approval to spend being granted once the project has progressed through the assurance process.

e)    delegates to the Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee, the approval of the project to pass through to Decision Point 4 totalling no more than £0.31m of funding from the Single Investment Fund.