Decision Details

Implemented

Proposed extension of the Leiston Together Initiative

ES/0158

No

Committee

Cabinet

Tue 1 Oct 2019

No

Report of the Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member with responsibility for Economic Development and the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Communities, Leisure & Tourism, respectively

To approve an extension of the Leiston Together partnership for a further two years and funding of £72,000 (£36,000 per annum) towards a new funding agreement, hopefully to be matched by funding of £4,000 from Leiston cum Sizewell Town Council.

Economic Development & Regeneration

Nicole Rickard, Head of Communities

Not applicable

No

That an extension of the Leiston Together partnership for a further two years from January 2020 be approved and that funding of up to £80,000 (£40,000 per annum) towards a new funding agreement be provided.

The Leiston Together Partnership was established to tackle a range of socio-economic challenges identified within the 2015 Our Place Review and whilst the partnership had co-ordinated and enabled a wide range of actions to tackle these challenges and indeed seize a number of opportunities to secure external funding, this was due to having a dedicated Change Manager in place.  The proposed extension to the funding for Leiston Together would allow the continuation of this co-ordination and enabling role in relation to a refreshed delivery plan and the ongoing challenges facing the town in the context of the Sizewell C new nuclear development and the creation of the new Community Partnership for Aldeburgh, Leiston and Saxmundham.

Three options to extend the current Leiston Together funding agreement were considered, as set out below:

• A new 3 year programme (Jan 2020 – December 2022), which would provide a significant amount of time to deliver against all the priorities in the new delivery plan and ensure sustainability for those longer term activities. This would also replicate the length of the initial agreement and be in line with the extension the Felixstowe Forward partnership received in 2018 and the six year funding period for Lowestoft Rising. There would, however, be a long period of cross over with new CP for the area and not provide an early opportunity to have a full review the future of LT in light of the development of the new CP. 

• A new 2 year programme (Jan 2020 – December 2021), which was recommended by the LT board. The board recognised there had been significant investment to date and felt that a further 2 years would provide adequate time to deliver against the priorities in the new plan and enable them to ensure sustainability of ongoing projects.

• A 15 month extension (Jan 2020 – March 2021) which would allow some further progress against the new delivery plan but also allow a review of the future of the partnership to take place at a time when the CP for the area is becoming embedded and there is a clear plan is in place, albeit for a much wider area. This would then provide an opportunity for an assessment of both plans to ensure they remain complementary.

A further option would have been to provide no further funding beyond December 2019. The Leiston Together Board could continue but would have no dedicated staff to co-ordinate and enable ongoing and future delivery plan actions. The Board itself strongly felt that there was still significant work to be done and that it would be detrimental to the Council’s relationship with the local community and its representatives for the funding partnership to end now, particularly in the context of Sizewell C.

None.

None.