Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the meeting.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Graham Vincent be elected Chairman for the meeting.

To receive apologies for absence, if any, and to report any arising changes to membership.

There were no apologies and there had been no changes in the membership of the Sub-Committee, and therefore reconstitution of membership was not necessary.

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the revised Code of Conduct, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests.  (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting.)

Members may, however, also decide, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other registrable or other interests.

If a Member requires advice on any item involving a possible declaration of interest which could affect his/her ability to speak and/or vote, he/she is advised to contact the Monitoring Officer at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That it be noted that no declarations of interest were made.

To consider whether the items, if any, in Part II of the Agenda should be considered in the presence of the press and public.

RESOLVED – That it be noted that there were no excluded items on the Agenda.

To consider the applications for discretionary rate relief listed at Appendix 2 to the report

Summary

Consideration was given to approving Discretionary Rate Relief Applications from a variety of organisations within the District for 2014/15.

Decision

(1)       Discretionary Rate Relief be awarded to charitable and other non-for-profit organisations listed in Appendix 2 of the report for the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, namely:-

In the case of:-

·         Kings Church (ref: 52589412 and 53028864) – A lesser amount of relief was awarded to reflect the services provided to the residents of South Lakeland but noting that other services were provided across a wider area outside of the District.

·         Cumbria Cricket Board (ref:52556433 and 53027930) – A lesser amount of relief was awarded to reflect a re-alignment of the Council Plan (2014-19).

·         Westmorland County Football Association Ltd (ref:53012119) – A lesser amount of relief was awarded to reflect a re-alignment of the Council Plan (2014-19).

·         Kendal Brewery Arts Centre Trust Ltd (ref:50063041, 51360031 and 53024869) – A lesser amount of relief was awarded to reflect that the organisation is in competition with other businesses in the District but services are provided that assist the Council in achieving it Council Plan priorities and targets.

(2)       Discretionary Rate Relief be refused for Boxes of Hope (ref:53047907), Action for Children (ref:53046935), Kendal Arts International Limited (ref:53034481) and Down Syndrome Education International (ref:53045556) as they do not meet the criteria as set out in Appendix 1 of the report as they are not deemed to provide exceptional services and they do not provide sufficient benefits to the residents of South Lakeland in comparison to the costs of awarding relief.

(3)       Consideration of granting Discretionary Rate Relief for Cumbria Deaf Association (ref:52508315) be deferred until further information regarding the association’s benefit to the local community can be provided.

(4)       20% Discretionary Rate Relief is awarded to the Trustees of Kendal Lions Club (ref:53052757) but it be noted that the club is under occupying its current premises and  ...  view the full minutes text for item DRR/5