Common good cash: use it or lose it

FORRES Councillors want more local groups and individuals to apply for a grant from the town’s common good funds.

Following an ongoing investigation into Moray Council’s administration of the funds, it was revealed at Thursday’s Forres Community Council meeting that around £7,500 is currently available to projects that would benefit Forres.

Approximately £16,000 was available in the Forres common good fund during the April 2012 to April 2013 financial year. From that total £1000 has been given to Forres St Lawrence Cricket Club and the same amount to the Forres Vintage Vehicle Association, leaving £14,000, to revitalise the town.

However, it is understood that other grants have been given out since then and Moray Council told the ‘Gazette’ that £7,664.68 is currently available, taking into account the recent £1,000 donation received from Forres Mechanics Football Club.

"It’s up to groups in Forres to apply," said Independent councillor, George Alexander. "They just have to tell us what they need the money for."

Community councillors Bob Hellyer and Colin Lipscomb said that they had been researching the Forres common good fund for eight years, and, in particular, Moray Council’s role as custodians of its assets and capital. They believe that the amount of money available to the people of Forres was unclear. Until now.

"The people of Forres need to use it or lose it," "said Mr Hellyer. "If the total revenue is not spent in a financial year any surplus goes in to Moray Council’s capital fund. The council then has more difficulty spending it on Forres because it has to be agreed by all of the elected councillors rather than just the 26 trustees of the common good fund."

At last week’s community council meeting, Mr Hellyer claimed that there had been a significant underspend of common good funding for years: £6000 in 2008/2009, £3,500 in 2009/10, £4890 in 2010/11 and £7000 as of March this year was left unspent.

"I am amazed at how long the underspend has been ongoing," said George Alexander. "Why wasn’t Moray Council telling us this money was available before? It should have been publicised."

The issue of Common Good land and cash is a complex one and community council are keen to make it clear and easy for everyone to understand. It is an issue raised at almost every community council meeting in Forres.

"We want this to be postive for Forres," said Mr Hellyer. "I suspect people are not applying, because they don’t know the cash is available. It is our duty to tell them."

Independent councillor, Lorna Creswell, was also present at Thursday’s meeting in the Tolbooth. She pointed out the fact that common good use is often a grey area, especially where using the money to repair assets like walls or roads is concerned, where ownership cannot be clearly defined.

"We should think of it as a collective responsibility," she said. "However, we should certainly be pushing for an asset register to make things clearer. We need to sort the issue out so that people can understand it."

The common good of Forres consists of land and property of the town which is held by Moray Council on behalf of the community. The land and property represent a potential source of wealth and investment for the public good of the community.

Examples of this in Forres have included property income from Clovenside Road, Forres Squash Club, Forres Mechanics for Mosset Park and nursery lands at Pilmuir, Bogton Road, Kingsmeadow and the kiosk in Grant Park.

When considering applications for grants, Moray Council considers whether or not it is a "reasonable judgement" to release money from the common good fund. This judgement must be based on the application being for the genuine benefit of the Forres community.

Properly accounted for and properly managed, the common good can be used for the benefit of everyone in Forres..

Between 2008 and 2012, grant payments were made to the Forres Christmas Lights Committee, Forres in Bloom, Forres Round Table Fireworks Display, Forres Theme day, the Royal British Legion, Forres Youth Activities, Wee FIBees, Film Forres, road repairs near Bogton Road and Forres Rotary Club.

An application form for common good funding and further details are available at http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_58063.html.