Angus groups are in line for a whopping £600,000 of levelling-up support for a range of projects.
But the destination of the cash will remain a secret – for now – after Angus Council refused to reveal the successful applicants.
Instead councillors have given the go-ahead for a top official to deal with the handling of the grants if any of the winners stumble with their schemes.
The money has come from the UK shared prosperity fund, part of the Westminster government’s suite of levelling-up monies.
In September, councillors agreed to make a £600k allocation to a capital grant fund to support community-led projects.
It aims to encourage schemes around community ownership, asset redevelopment and green space.
Applications were weighted around:
- Impact
- Deliverability within set timescales
- Sustainability
- Leverage
- Carbon Reduction
And it followed expressions of interest from Angus organisations keen to tap into a place-based investment fund earlier this year.
Bids total double available funding
In all, 23 groups were asked by the council for further information on their plans.
A number could not deliver in the timescale of the fund or were seeking revenue costs as opposed to capital costs.
Others required further permissions and are not ready to proceed.
Some projects were deemed suitable for other funding streams.
But it left the council with nine bids for cash.
Those groups and organisations submitted applications totalling £1.3 million for the available £600k.
A sub-group of the authority’s policy and resources committee considered the applications behind closed doors.
A council spokesperson said that was done due to “financial sensitivities”.
Following 50-minutes of private discussion, committee convener and council leader Bill Duff said grants to eight of the nine projects had been approved.
The council did not indicate when the grant awards would be made public.
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