Download original attachment
(PDF file)
This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Allocation process of £400,000 fund for Hertfordshire town centre improvements'.
 
 
Resources & Performance 
Director: Mike Parsons 
 
 
 
 
J Fitzgerald 
Information Governance Unit
 
Hertfordshire County Council
 
CHO150, Room C1, County Hall
 
Pegs Lane, Hertford
 
Hertfordshire
 
SG13 8DQ
 
 
 
Telephone: 
01992 555848
 
Fax: 
01992 588117
 
Email: 
[email address]
(By email only) 
 
Date: 
15th July 2010
 
Dear J Fitzgerald, 
 
Reference number: FOI/RAP/06/10/2213 
 
On 21st June 2010 we received the following request for information from you: 
 
      “Hertfordshire Council’s Horizon Magazine/ summer 2010 announced in 
    an article by Council Leader Robert Gordon that £400,000 was 
    awarded to a (named) list of Hertfordshire Towns/Projects. 
     
    I am requesting the following information under the Freedom of 
    Information Act 
    2000. 
     
    1) When was it known (date) by the Council Leader that the Council 
    was awarded/allocated this fund to spend on Town Centre 
    improvements in Herts? 
    2) (Aside from the named winning bidders) Which Town Councils, 
    Community Groups & Town Partnerships in Herts were informed about 
    the availability of this fund and the bidding process? 
    3) When (dates) were the invitations to bid for this fund, made to 
    the towns/projects that were eventually successful? 
    4) Where can the ‘strict judging criteria to assess the quality of 
    the plans’ be viewed? The above 'underlined' is a statement from 
    the article by Cllr Robert Gordon. 
    5) Who were the named Officers and Councillors tasked with the 
    whole administration of this fund from bid invitation to fund award 
    stage? 
    6) Who made up the selection panel when the seven projects were 
    chosen? 
     
    Please supply detailed references (meetings/dates etc) and where 
    the said references/minutes may be viewed in print or online. 
    Secondly, where it is not possible to directly name an Officer then 
    please supply their title role e.g. Senior Arts Officer etc.” 
 
www.hertsdirect.org 
Page 1 of 5 
 
Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 
2000. I can confirm that Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) does hold the information you 
have requested and can respond as follows:  
 
1) When was it known (date) by the Council Leader that the Council was 
awarded/allocated this fund to spend on Town Centre improvements in Herts? 
The ‘Local Shopping Centres Improvement Fund’ forms part of a larger ‘Recession to 
Recovery’ programme. The programme, together with a second programme, ‘Think 
Family’ is funded from Performance Reward Grant (PRG), monies received by 
Hertfordshire Forward, the Countywide Strategic Partnership for the achievement of 
targets in first Local Area Agreement (LAA) for Hertfordshire.  HCC is the accountable 
body for LAA1. 
 
In May 2009, the Hertfordshire Forward Core Group, chaired by Robert Gordon, Leader of 
HCC, agreed to use part of Hertfordshire PRG to fund the ‘Recession to Recovery’ 
programme. The programme approved by the Core Group included £500,000 capital for a 
‘Local Shopping Centres Improvement Fund’.  
 
In its role as accountable body for LAA1 arrangements within Hertfordshire, HCC Cabinet, 
at its meeting on 13th July 2009 agreed how the PRG funding arising from LAA1 delivery 
would be invested through countywide partnerships (below). Robert Gordon as HCC 
Leader, chaired the meeting. 
 
The relevant countywide partnership for the ‘Recession to Recovery’ programme is 
Hertfordshire Works, also chaired by Robert Gordon. At its meeting on 2nd September 
2009, Hertfordshire Works endorsed the ‘Recession to Recovery’ programme and 
delegated delivery to its Topic Groups. In the case of the ‘Local Shopping Centres 
Improvement Fund’, this is the ‘Vibrant Towns’ Group. 
 
2) (Aside from the named winning bidders) Which Town Councils, Community Groups 
& Town Partnerships in Herts were informed about the availability of this fund 
and the bidding process? 
Advance notification of the bidding opportunity and timescale was sent on 19th October 
2009 to all members of the Officer group that supports Hertfordshire Works (including all 
district councils and the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium – third sector 
organisations in Hertfordshire) – all District Council Chief Executives and district officers 
supporting  Local Strategic Partnerships. The notification included the following:  
 
•  Applications must be submitted by district councils and they will be responsible for 
ensuring that successful schemes are implemented;  
•  District councils are encouraged to work in partnership with town and parish 
councils, local traders, town centre managers and VCS organisations where 
appropriate. Joint bids are also welcome from two or more districts. Any funding 
allocated must be spent by 31.03.2011; 
•  There is no set limit on the amount of money that individual projects can bid for up 
to the £500,000 maximum. However match funding will be expected to be identified; 
•  Bids will be assessed on the following criteria: Innovation, Additionality, Partnership 
Working, Match Funding and Deliverability; 
•  Expressions of Interest and final bids will  be judged by a panel including 
practitioners from outside Hertfordshire and HCC. 
 
 
Page 2 of 5 
3) When (dates) were the invitations to bid for this fund, made to the 
towns/projects that were eventually successful? 
Formal invitations to bid, together with a guidance note, expressions of interest form and 
full bid form were sent to same mailing lists as in 2 above on 5th November 2009. 
 
4) Where can the ‘strict judging criteria to assess the quality of  the plans’ 
be viewed? The above 'underlined' is a statement from the article by Cllr Robert 
Gordon. 
See below:  
 
 
CRITERIA EVIDENCE 
SCORE 
 
1 
INNOVATION 
25% 
•  Projects should be innovative and creative, looking at new 
 
approaches to delivery and doing things differently. PRG is not 
intended to replace mainstream funding. 
 
•  Applications are more likely to be successful if they demonstrate 
innovation, such as a ‘pilot’ scheme that can be replicated 
elsewhere or which generates learning that can be disseminated 
across Hertfordshire: 
2 
ADDITIONALITY 
25% 
What will the project delivery over and above existing/mainstream 
programmes – i.e. things that would happen anyway – what’s the synergy 
with other projects and will this project be the key to unlocking other 
investment in the town centre/local shopping parade? 
3 
PARTNERSHIP WORKING 
20% 
 Who are your partners, how have you consulted and involved them in 
your scheme, what do they bring to the table and do they have a role 
in delivery? 
 
4 
FUNDING 
10% 
There is an expectation that PRG funding will be matched £ for £ by 
other funding - this may be in the form of capital, revenue, benefits in 
kind of other LSP PRG funds. However we need to know the level of 
commitment of any match funders and how staff time or other benefits 
in kind are costed.  
5 
DELIVERABILITY 
20% 
 We need to be sure that you and your partners have the capacity and 
skills to deliver the project within the timescale and budget and to be 
aware what statutory or other consents need to be obtained before the 
works can start.  Your track record in delivering other capital projects 
will be important as will your proposals for sustaining the project in the 
longer term. 
 
 
5) Who were the named Officers and Councillors tasked with the whole 
administration of this fund from bid invitation to fund award stage? 
As noted in 1 above, the administration of the Local Shopping Centres Improvement Fund 
part of the ‘Recession to Recovery’ programme was delegated by Hertfordshire Forward to 
 
Page 3 of 5 
the Hertfordshire Works Vibrant Towns Group. The Group is chaired by Dorothy Thornhill, 
elected Mayor of Watford. The programme was principally administered by David Hughes, 
then HCC Key Sites and Regeneration Manager, now Economic Delivery Manager. 
 
The Vibrant Towns Group comprises:  
•  Chair, Elected Mayor of Watford. 
•  Economic Development Officers (EDO) from East Herts District Council, St. Albans 
City and District Council, and Watford Borough Council. 
•  Major Projects and Developments Manager, Broxbourne Borough Council. 
•  Regeneration Officers from Dacorum Borough Council and Stevenage Borough 
Council. 
•  Planning Officer from North Herts District Council. 
•  Head of Corporate Support, Hertsmere Borough Council. 
•  Town Centre Managers, Welwyn Hatfield District Council and Hitchin Initiative. 
 
6) Who made up the selection panel when the seven projects were chosen? 
The decision to use an external selection panel was made by the Vibrant Towns Group. 
This Panel was made up of the Economic Participation Executive from the East of England 
Development Agency; David Lloyd, HCC deputy leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic 
Well-being and Resources; and a Design Review Panel Member from Inspire East, the 
Regional Centre for Sustainable Communities.  HCC Officers administered the panel but 
did not take part in the voting. 
 
Please supply detailed references (meetings/dates etc) and where the said 
references/minutes may be viewed in print or online. 
Progress reports on delivering the ‘Local Shopping Centres Improvement Fund’ were 
made as follows; 
•  HCC Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel, 15/10/09 agenda item 5.1 
•  HCC Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel, 19/11/09 agenda item 5.1 
•  Executive Member for Resources and Economic Wellbeing report to County Council 
meeting 24/11/09 item 1.3 
•  HCC Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel, 17/12//09 agenda item 5.1 
•  Hertfordshire Works Board 2/12/09 agenda  item 3 (b) 
•  Executive Member for Resources and Economic Wellbeing report to County Council 
meeting 23/02/10 item 1.5 
•  HCC Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel, 23/02/10 agenda item 5.2 
•  HCC Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel, 16/04/10 agenda item 5.4 
•  Hertfordshire Works Board 30/06/10, agenda item 8c. 
  
Copies of Hertfordshire Forward and Hertfordshire Works reports and minutes can be 
found at: www.hertslink.org/hertfordshireforward . 
 
Copies of HCC Cabinet and Policy and Resources Cabinet Panel minutes and agenda 
papers can be found on http://www.hertsdirect.org/hccmeetings . 
 
The relevant guidance notes and blank application forms are attached.  Please note, some 
names and third party personal information have been removed from these documents in 
compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. 
 
 
Page 4 of 5 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, quoting the reference 
number on this letter. To find out more about Freedom of Information, please visit 
www.hertsdirect.org/foi 
 
If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your request for 
information, you may complain through the County Council's complaints procedure which 
is available at www.hertsdirect.org/complaints 
 
If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaints procedure you are entitled to ask 
the Information Commissioner to investigate your complaint. You should write to: FOI/EIR 
Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
 
 
 
Information Access Practitioner 
Hertfordshire County Council 
 
The Information Governance Unit supports Hertfordshire County Council's Data Protection, 
Freedom of Information and Records Management activity. 
 
 
Page 5 of 5