Decision Maker: Cabinet
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
The Head of Regeneration, Prosperity & Housing provided Members with a report detailing a review of the Town Centre Maintenance Grant which had been piloted in the Mountain Ash and Tonypandy Retail Areas, following a decision by Cabinet in September, 2017.
Members were reminded that the grant available provided support to traders / landlords to undertake maintenance works to improve the external front elevation of town centre properties, contributing to a positive impact on the street scene, creating a more attractive and vibrant town centre environment.
The Head of Regeneration, Prosperity & Housing provided Members with details of the take up, advising that demand for the scheme had been high amongst traders from across both town centres, with a further 28 applications currently in development. Due to its success, the Head of service proposed that an additional budget of £36,400 is allocated to support the proposals. The Head of Service continued his report by advising Members of the proposal listed within the report, building on the successful outcomes of the pilot scheme, to roll out the scheme to independent town centre traders and owners within the Treorchy Retail Area.
Cabinet Member for Enterprise,Development & Housing commented positively on the review and the benefits the current grant was having on the Tonypandy and Mountain Ash Town Centres, for the traders and the local communities. He also added that widening the grant to include Treorchy would complement the work currently underway to consider the potential of developing a Business Improvement District (BID) in Treorchy. The Cabinet Member referred to the positive discussions he’d been involved in with traders in respect of the grant and welcomed the widening of the proposal.
The Leader of the Council added that the intention was to roll out the grant to all town centres within RCT over a year by year basis and spoke of the additional assistance the Council had taken forward in the Town Centres across the County Borough in respect of Car Parking and rate relief. The Leader took the opportunity to query the Footprint for the Treorchy Town Centre, as listed in appendix 3 of the report and the Head of Regeneration, Prosperity & Housing confirmed that the Co-operative Supermarket was not eligible within the Town Centre Grant scheme.
The Deputy Leader also spoke positively about the grant and the proposals within the report and reiterated the support being provided to the Town Centres, commenting on the success of the Christmas Town Centre Events taken forward by the Council across the County Borough and the benefits to the traders and the local community.
Following discussions it was RESOLVED:
1. To note the successful outcomes to date for Mountain Ash and Tonypandy.
2. That the additional budget allocation of £36,400 is approved for proposals already in development in Mountain Ash and Tonypandy.
3. That the Town Centre Maintenance Grant pilot is extended to the Treorchy Retail Area with a budget allocation of £30,000.
4. That the grant scheme will be rolled out across all town centres subject to ongoing evaluation and future Cabinet approval.
N.B With the permission of the Chair, County Borough Councillor A Chapman spoke on the item.
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N / A
Publication date: 17/07/2018
Date of decision: 17/07/2018
Decided at meeting: 17/07/2018 - Cabinet
Accompanying Documents: