Council and councillors

Report No. 63/2017 from the Director for Places (Development and Economy) was received.

The Portfolio Holder, Mr Walters, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to update Cabinet on the proposed bid submission to the Discover England Fund for the A1 England tourism project which sought to increase inward investment from tourism into Rutland and partners’ areas.

During discussion the following points were raised:

i)                 Concerns were raised over the Council’s liability once the grant was awarded and accepted. 

ii)               Timeline discussed (shown below):

iii)              Compliance with State Aid Rules - Legal advice would be sought once grant offered.

iv)             If the bid was successful Cabinet would be required to agree the Term and Conditions.

DECISION

1)    That Cabinet AGREED to support the submission of a £1,000,000 grant funding bid to the Discover England Fund and NOTED the £400,000 match funding requirement if the bid was successful.

Reasons for Decision

1.     This was an excellent opportunity for the Council to lead in a project to drive foreign investment from tourism in England, particularly benefitting Rutland for whom tourism contributes significantly to economic growth and employment.  It would also raise the profile of Rutland both nationally and abroad.

2.     The flexible combination of grant, cash match and in-kind funding means that there is no requirement on the Council to commit funding from its revenue budgets or reserves and thus, despite the positive project outcomes, the Medium Term Financial Plan would be not be adversely impacted.