Committee Report Checklist
Stage 1
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
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ITEM |
Yes / No |
Date |
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Councillor engagement / input from Chair prior to briefing |
Y |
26/08/25 |
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Commissioner engagement (if report focused on issues of concern to Commissioners such as Finance, Assets etc) |
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|
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Relevant Group Head review |
Y |
030/9/25 |
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MAT+ review (to have been circulated at least 5 working days before Stage 2) |
Y |
03/09/25 |
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This item is on the Forward Plan for the relevant committee |
Y |
04/09/25 |
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Reviewed by |
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Finance comments |
Ola Owolabi |
03/09/25 |
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Risk comments |
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Legal comments |
J. Clare |
03/09/25 |
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HR comments (if applicable) |
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For reports with material financial or legal implications the author should engage with the respective teams at the outset and receive input to their reports prior to asking for MO or s151 comments.
Do not forward to stage 2 unless all the above have been completed.
Stage 2
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
|
ITEM |
Completed by |
Date |
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Monitoring Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
L Heron |
05/09/25 |
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S151 Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
Ola Owolabi |
03/09/2025 |
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|
|
|
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Confirm final report cleared by MAT |
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Title |
Additional Annual Grant Award Application 2025/2026 |
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Purpose of the report |
To make a recommendation to Council
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Report Author |
Lisa Stonehouse |
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Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards
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Exempt |
No |
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Exemption Reason |
N/A |
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Corporate Priority |
Community
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Recommendations
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Committee is asked to: 1. Consider the recommendation of the Grants Panel in relation to Spelthorne Museum; and 2. Recommend that the Council approves the award of £588 to Spelthorne Museum
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Reason for Recommendation |
A decision is required as to whether the Spelthorne Museum can be awarded £588.00 from the underspend in Annual Grant Funding for 2025/2026.
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1. Executive summary of the report (expand detail in Key Issues section below)
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What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
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• The Council has a community grants budget. Grants are allocated annually to charities and voluntary groups. The cross-party Councillor Grants Panel reviewed the applications in December and made a recommendation to Committee in January regarding the agencies that should receive grants. There was small underspend of £5985.00 which was ring fenced for projects which arise later in the financial year. The Spelthorne Museum has recently submitted a request for a project. They required £588.00 to cover the listed building consent to move the London Stone from the museum within the old library to the new library, cultural and community hub in Staines Upon Thames. The Council Grants Panel has recommended that the Museum receive this grant. |
• Charities and voluntary groups such as the Spelthorne Museum have an important role within the borough. The museum volunteers provide a valuable service for residents of all ages |
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This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
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• A decision from Committee is required to determine whether the museum should receive a grant. |
• Once Committee has made the decision the museum will be informed as to whether their request has been successful. |
2. Key issues
2.1 Following the Annual Grant Awards in April 2025 there was a small underspend of £5985.00 which was ring fenced for projects which may arise later in the financial year.
2.2 The Spelthorne Museum was part of the old library. The old library has closed and the new library, cultural and community hub has opened in the Elmsleigh Centre in Staines-Upon-Thames. The museum is in the process of moving into this new space.
2.3 In 1285, the London Stone, was erected to mark the western limit of the City of London's jurisdiction over the Thames and it originally stood upstream from Staines Upon Thames Town Centre. This original stone has been displayed in the museum, for many years, although a replica stone and information is situated behind the Old Town Hall in Memorial Gardens.
2.4 A request for £588.00 was received from the museum in August 2025 to cover the fees for listed building consent to move the London Stone from the old Library to the new library, cultural and community hub in Staines-Upon- Thames.
2.5 The Council Grants Panel has recommended that the Museum receive this grant. The constitution states that the Panel’s recommendation is to be reported to Community Wellbein and Housing Committee with a recommendation to Council.
2.6 The Local Planning Authority has no discretion to waive planning fees, as they are statutorily prescribed.
2.7 Spelthorne Archaeological Field Group was founded in 1979 to provide an archaeological service for Spelthorne including running a museum under licence from Spelthorne Borough Council. They have operated a museum in Staines-Upon-Thames since 1980. The museum team are all volunteers.
2.8 The museum is open whenever the new library is open (Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm). The museum is well supported in terms of visit from members of the public. They have an active and enthusiastic education team which offer both visits and outreach for local schools, uniformed groups such as Rainbows and Beavers and links with other voluntary groups.
3. Options appraisal and proposal
3.1 Option 1 – (proposed option) is to agree to award £588.00 to the Spelthorne Museum and recommend to Council for aproval.
This will cover the listed building consent to move the London Stone from the old Library to the new library, cultural and community hub in Staines Upon Thames.
Advantages of Option 1
3.2 The museum would appreciate the assistance. They have been working hard to apply for grants to assist with moving and setting up the museum in the new venue and this planning fee was unexpected.
3.3 As mentioned above the museum team are all volunteers and have to raise funds to cover all expenditure.
3.4 This will enable them to use any other funds on providing the museum service for the community and setting up the exhibits in the new museum
Disadvantages of Option 1
3.5 The museum may expect the council to fund various expenses in the future. It has already been made clear that the Council cannot continue to provide ad hoc funding in the future.
Option 2 - Do not agree to award £588.00 to the Spelthorne Museum.
Advantages of Option 2
3.6 The £588.00 could remain in the budget to be carried forward to the 2026/2027 grants budget and be used for another organisation.
Disadvantages of Option 2
3.7 The museum will struggle to find the funds. The fee was unexpected, so it did not account for this.
3.8 If the museum has to find the funds, there will be a delay in moving the London Stone. The Council’s Assets Team are waiting to lease the space that the London Stone is occupying and cannot do this until it is moved. The Council will therefore not receive rental income until this is resolved.
3.8 The museum volunteers have provided the library in Spelthorne since 1980. They are likely to feel frustrated if they did not receive this grant to cover the planning fees.
4. Risk implications
4.1 The Council’s Assets Team are waiting to lease the old library building and cannot do this until the London Stone is moved. If the museum has to find funding there will be a delay and the Council will not receive rental income until the London Stone can be moved.
4.2 The expectation of further funding as documented in 3.5 is the main risk associated with Option 1.
5. Financial implications
5.1 £588.00 has been requested. There was an underspend in the grant funding of £5,985.00.
6. Legal comments
6.1 There are no legal implications in this report.
Corporate implications
7. S151 Officer comments
7.1 The grant request of £588.00 can be accommodated within the existing £5,985.00 underspend from the 2025/2026 Community Grants budget, which has been ring-fenced for in-year projects. If approved, this request will leave a remaining balance of £5,397.00. There are no additional financial pressures on the current budget arising from this proposal. The funding request represents a one-off cost, which is considered proportionate given the museum’s community value.
7.2 However, approval of this request may set a precedent for future ad hoc funding requests outside the standard annual grants cycle. While the immediate financial impact is minimal, any such future requests will need to be assessed within the limits of available resources, as further ad hoc support may not be sustainable without sufficient underspend. It is also worth noting that failure to approve this funding could delay the relocation of the London Stone, which in turn may defer potential rental income from the old library site.
8. Monitoring Officer comments
8.1 The Monitoring Officer confirms that the relevant legal implications have been taken into account.
9. Procurement comments
There are no procurement implications in this report.
10. Equality and Diversity
10.1 The museum provides services for all residents in Spelthorne.
11. Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
11.1 The Grant Panel’s aim is to support a cross section of voluntary organisations. Successful applicants are asked to engage with the councils Climate Change & Sustainability specialist where appropriate to ensure that they receive information and advice about energy conservation projects and funding.
12. Other considerations
12.1 There are no other considerations.
13. Timetable for implementation
If Committee recommend and Council approves the award, the grant will be paid immediately.
14. Contact
14.1 Lisa Stonehouse (Community Development Manager) L.stonehouse@spelthorne.gov.uk
Background papers: There are none.