Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

Councillor Banks introduced the report and explained that, as part of the procurement of the Parc Adfer contract and the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership (NWRTP), it was agreed to fund and manage a Community Benefit Fund (CBF) that would run for the duration of the contract.

            The CBF was a contractual commitment between the Authority and Enfinium (formerly Wheelabrator Technologies Inc) and was also a contractual commitment for each individual partner authority within the Second Inter Authority Agreement.

            To date the CBF had been used to fund an initial Parc Adfer Community Recovery Fund, which was now closed for applications.  It awarded grants to over 10 projects with a total value of over £60,000.  Details of the main CBF, including project and eligibility criteria, were outlined in the report, seeking approval for a launch in early 2022.

            The existing panel and governance arrangements set up for the Community Recovery Fund would remain largely in place for the main CBF when it was launched, as will many of the overarching eligibility criteria.  However, the type of projects to be funded would be different to reflect the original intention of the fund which was to fund community projects which provided environmental benefit to the local area.

Councillor thanked the Project Manager, Steffan Owen, for all of his work on this project.

On the project criteria, the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) explained that there were 5 criteria, not 6 as stated in the report.  Following Cabinet approval, the North Wales Residual Waste Joint Committee (NWRWJC) would be briefed on the outcome and revised eligibility criteria for the CBF.  Once that briefing had taken place, the CBF could be launched publicly with the issue of a press statement, update on the Council’s website and a letter written to stakeholders to inform them.  It was anticipated that this could occur in late February / early March 2022.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the main eligibility and proposed criteria for the Parc Adfer Community Benefit Fund be approved and the proposed launch of the fund in early 2022 be supported; and

(b)       That delegated authority be given to the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Streetscene, to make amendments to the necessary documentation (e.g. guidance notes) that are contained within the fund’s intentions and desired outcomes, and to make minor changes to the governance arrangements (e.g. panel membership, officer support etc).