Decision – Pride in Place Funding Allocation

1,       that the following
project receives funding from the Pride in Place funding
allocation:

Melville Community
Hub

£50,000 Capital funding for the
construction, installation, fit-out and making good of the Melville
Community Hub structure, and;

2.       that the funding
award for the following project be amended:

Barton Recreation
Ground

The previously agreed £35,000 be
increased to £60,000 revenue for architectural design,
surveys, and cost validation for plans to transform Barton
Recreation Ground into a modern Community, Health, Wellbeing and
Sports Hub, acting as the physical anchor for the Torbay
cradle-to-career strategy across Torquay.

Pride in Place funding is a ten-year funding
stream from the MHCLG, and is passed to Torbay Council as the
Accountable Body. The Torquay Place Leadership Board is responsible
for determining how the funds are allocated. The Place Leadership
Board is comprised of a number of business community leaders,
including representatives from Torbay Council, and is chaired
independently. The Board’s Terms of Reference have been
properly adopted, and is subject to strict Governance procedures,
reporting progress to both Torbay Council and the MHCLG.

An alternative option would have been to
refuse the applications. This option was discounted

as the applications met the criteria for
funding and were approved by the Board.

The decision will come
into force with effect immediately.

Torquay Place
Leadership Board are responsible for determining how the Torquay
Pride in Place Funding should be allocated among community
organisations who submit a bid for project funds, in line with the
agreed governance process set out in Terms of Reference and
Operation document. The Board have undertaken a thorough review of
bids submitted and are required to allocate funding to projects who
best meet the previously agreed priorities of the Board and all
stipulations and requirements set down by the Ministry of
Communities, Housing and Local Government (MHCLG). Once the funding
is approved by the Board, the Council’s Chief Finance Officer
will ratify the Board’s decision and approve the draw down of
the Grant Funding from the MHCLG allocation and will publish a
Record of Decision.  This round of
funding allocations was determined at a meeting of the Board on 15
June 2026, where they considered a request to increase the funding
agreed in Round 1 for Barton Recreation Ground to enable the
project to proceed to RIBA4 which would enable the project to
secure more funding to implement.