Decision
Analysis
outcome: Grant funding of £100,000 will be provided to support the project.
summary: The decision is to provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust's project to restore Petty's Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council's Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers.
topline: The Leader of the Council has decided to provide £100,000 grant funding to support the restoration of Petty's Brook in Chineham.
reason_contentious: This issue may be contentious as it involves allocating a significant amount of funding towards environmental conservation, which may have differing opinions among local stakeholders.
affected_stakeholders: ["South East Rivers Trust", "Borough Council", "Thames Water"]
contentiousness_score: 6
political_party_relevance: There are no mentions or implications of political parties or political influence on the decision.
URL: https://democracy.basingstoke.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=500000032
Decision Maker: Leader of the Council
Outcome:
Is Key Decision?: Yes
Is Callable In?: Yes
Purpose: To provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust’s project to restore Petty’s Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council’s Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers.
Content: To provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust’s project to restore Petty’s Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council’s Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers. The decision is: · To provide grant funding of £100,000 towards expanding the scope of the South East Rivers Trust’s project to restore Petty’s Brook in Chineham, in support of the borough council’s Ecological Emergency and Declaration on Rights of Rivers. The proposal to provide £100k of grant funding to SERT to support and extend the scope of the Petty’s Brook improvement project will provide significant benefits in support of a range of objectives set out in adopted strategies. Doing so recognises the importance attached to the natural environment by the Borough Council. Whilst it is recommended that a grant of £100,000 is provided, there remains the option of: · Not providing a grant; or · Providing a sum less than or greater than £100,000. Noting the Rivers Trust is in receipt of funding associated with Thames Water, additional funding by the Borough Council will ensure that the scope can be widened to provide additional benefits. Without additional funding or providing a lesser amount, the project can only be delivered across a smaller area and recognising the impact of inflation and increases in costs, there is concern that without additional funding, the project may be reduced in scale and ambition. There are economies of scale in extending the scope of the project as outlined in this report, given the resources required to plan for an oversee implementation that which has already secured funding. Equally, there is scope to provide additional funding to support wider benefits. However, this needs to be balanced against the money held by the Borough Council in the Climate Change Reserve and the need to use this in the most effective manner possible to support wider objectives in response to the Climate Emergency.
Date of Decision: July 17, 2026