To receive apologies for absence, including notifications of any changes to the membership of the Board.

Apologies for absence were received from Vince Flower, Steve Reynolds and Mike Westcott.  James Stock attended in place of Roy Linden.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on  15 December 2025.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Torquay Place Leadership Board held on 5 December 2025 were confirmed as a correct record.

a)       To receive declarations of non pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Having declared their non pecuniary interest members may remain in the meeting and speak and, vote on the matter in question.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

b)       To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Where a Member has a disclosable pecuniary interest he/she must leave the meeting during consideration of the item.  However, the Member may remain in the meeting to make representations, answer questions or give evidence if the public have a right to do so, but having done so the Member must then immediately leave the meeting, may not vote and must not improperly seek to influence the outcome of the matter.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

Where the interest is for issues relating to prioritisation of topics, approval of a prioritisation matrix and where approval of Grant Funding is being discussed, the Monitoring Officer has granted a dispensation to Board Members to remain in meetings of the Torquay Place Leadership Board and take part in discussions but not to vote on any application made by themselves or their organisation.

(Please Note:  If Members and Officers wish to seek advice on any potential interests they may have, they should contact Governance Support or Legal Services prior to the meeting.)

Tracey Cabache declared a non-pecuniary interest in all funding applications as Director of Torbay Communities and due to her involvement in managing the process for funding and wishing to maintain independence, and did not participate in any votes.

Individual Member interests were declared at the commencement of each vote, and are listed under each item in Minute 22. Members who declared an interest were permitted to take part in the debate but not to vote.

To consider any other items that the Chair decides are urgent.

The Interim Place Manager detailed the procurement process that had been undertaken recently, confirming that Torbay Communities had been awarded a 10-year contract in partnership with Locality to assist the Board and applicants’ in delivering the Pride in Place funding.

The Interim Place Manager also confirmed that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had issued a formal Memorandum of Understanding, setting out practical details of how funding will be issued and Torbay Council’s responsibilities as accountable body. The Interim Place Manager confirmed that the Memorandum had been signed by the Chair of Torquay Place Leadership Board and the Chief Executive of Torbay Council. It was also explained that the Board had some responsibilities in monitoring and reporting back to MHCLG, and that while Members had seen the initial draft of the first report, a further update was required following this meeting. Members supported the principle of the Interim Place Manager finalising the report and returning it to MHCLG, and it was confirmed that the full report will be issued to Members as part of the documentation for the next meeting.

Chair-led discussion to consider current funding applications.

The Interim Place Manager thanked Members for their work in analysing the proposals which had been put forward for consideration. The process undertaken to date was described, and a table presented showing weighted overall scorings for the 16 projects under consideration.

Discussion points included:

•                the overall evaluation process, discussing at length how the data may be used fairly and constructively in guiding their decisions;

•                the availability of seed funding;

•                the capacity to carry forward funds to later years;

•                specific detail on proposals where options were presented and final figures were not available;

•                the outcome of workshops and how these informed the Boards priorities, and;

•                how the decisions before them could be made to maximise community impact, especially in deprived areas, and deliver significant change.

Members discussed projects where other funding sources may be available, and took advice from Council Officers on projects where feasibility studies were requested alongside longer term funding, and how the fund could be utilised to facilitate the projects in question without committing to multi-year funding where the efficacy was not yet known.

The Board also sought assurances that projects which were not funded at this round would continue to be considered for funding. The Interim Place Manager confirmed that conversations would continue with these organisations, and the projects which did not receive funding would remain eligible for consideration at future meetings.

The Board arrived at a consensus around six projects, and agreed to the initial principle that funding would be restricted to single capital projects or year-1 only where revenue funding was requested, in order that the fund was not over committed. All the projects taken forward supported the four previously-agreed priorities for awarding funding (physically improving the town centre, reducing crime and improving safety, improving neighbourhoods (including affordable housing) and work and skills. Members who had a personal interest in the funding application were not permitted to vote.

It was agreed unanimously (by those entitled to vote) that the following projects would receive funding as detailed :

St Mary Magdalene Church

Interests declared – none

£3,600 capital and £34,000 revenue to stop the Living Room from closing and continue operations twice weekly for the coming year. This funding was conditional and if they secured alternative funding to support homeless people, this funding would be returned. Torbay Communities and Torbay Council, where possible, to support to help identify a longer-term funding provision.

Royal Lyceum Theatre Revitalisation

Interests declared – none

£141,587 capital funding for roof repairs, preliminary repairs to front facade and completion of kitchen.

Ellacombe Community Multi-Use Facility

Interests Declared:

Peter Friend, as a part of Together Church.

£60,000 capital to enable safe and controlled reopening of part of the building for restricted use.

Barton Recreation Ground Community Hub

Interests Declared:

Jim Parker, as the chair of Barton Cricket Club.

£35,000 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.