Decision details
Westhive Crowdfund Round 4
Decision Maker: Chief Executive & Head of Paid Service - Giles Hughes
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Purpose:
To consider submissions to the fourth round of Westhive and determine pledge levels for the Council main Westhive fund and the UKSPF funding.
Decision:
That the Chief Executive resolved to;
1. Approve that final determinations as explained in 2. are made by the Chief Exec in consultation with the Leader of the Council.
Reasons for the decision:
In March 2023, the Executive agreed to commission Spacehive Ltd to create a Westhive ‘movement’ on its civic crowdfunding platform. This movement enables local people to promote ideas for civic projects and to raise money from local supporters, including the Council. The Round 4 project creators pitch deadline was 31st March 2025. Projects live on the Westhive platform have completed verification by Spacehive and are currently campaigning for pledges from the public and businesses.
Please visit https://www.spacehive.com/movement/westhive/projects to view the live campaigns.
The Council’s main Westhive Fund has an available budget of £190,177. This is made up of an annual budget of £120,000 and a carry forward from 2024/25 of £70,177. The fund can contribute up to 75% of the total project cost, or up to £12,000, whichever is less, to projects of a capital and revenue nature.
In April 2025 it was confirmed that £60,000 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) and £30,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund / Community Infrastructure Fund (UKSPF/CIF) would be distributed through Westhive. This is solely capital funding. Given the timing, it was not possible to advertise the availability of these funds ahead of the 31st March deadline. Where we have projects which are eligible on the platform for UKSPF/REPF funding and actively fundraising, we have included them in the officers assessment and considered them for funding in this round.
When arriving at the recommendations officers have sought to prioritise projects based on the following factors:
· Relevance to Council aims.
· Benefit of the project.
· Number of pledges.
· Relation to other projects.
· Value for money/potential impact.
Summary of recommendations:
|
Project |
Council Main Westhive Fund |
UKSPF/REPF |
No. of pledges |
Value of pledges to date |
|
Churchill and Sarsden Village Hall Refurb
Total Officer Score |
£ 6,033
45/50 |
NA |
54 |
£ (in kind) £ 44,962 (cash) |
|
Community floodplain restoration W Oxon
Total Officer Score |
£ 10,000
45/50 |
NA |
43 |
£4,200+ (in kind) £ 6,945 (cash) |
|
Carterton Community hub
Total Officer Score |
£0 Project has reached target
45/50 |
NA |
31 |
£ (in kind) £ 50,010 (cash) |
|
Curtain up! Light the Lights!
Total Officer Score |
£441
30/50 |
£2,658 |
25 |
£ (in kind) £ 2,172 (cash) |
|
River Day Festival: Fundraising Fete
Total Officer Score |
£1,222
25/50 |
NA |
22 |
£ 700 (in kind) £ 1,825 (cash) |
|
Lets Roll! Wheelchair Dancing for All
Total Officer Score |
£10,000
45/50 |
NA |
26 |
£ (in kind) £ 15,675 (cash) |
|
Revitalise Carterton Family Centre
Total Officer Score |
£8,975
45/50 |
£1,950 |
15 |
£ (in kind) £ 1,270 (cash) |
|
Play facilities development
Total Officer Score |
£11,112 50/50 |
NA |
3 |
£ (in kind) £ 54,170(cash) |
|
North Leigh Youth Project and Centre
Total Officer Score |
£8,722
45/50 |
£1,000 |
2 |
£ (in kind) £ 5,500(cash) |
|
Revive Swinbrook's Historic Village Hall
Total Officer Score |
£9,515
45/50 |
£9,526
|
1 |
£ (in kind) £ 10 (cash) |
|
The Station Hot Chocolate Van
Total Officer Score |
£10,000
45/50 |
£17,244 |
8 |
£ (in kind) £ 6,378 (cash) |
|
Creating a new library at Hailey School
Total Officer Score |
£750
25/50 |
£1,000 |
15 |
£ (in kind) £ 1,567 (cash) |
|
Hanborough Pavilion Improvement Project
Total Officer Score |
£8,000
40/50 |
NIL |
4 |
£ (in kind) £ 5,938 (cash) |
|
The Branch, Chipping Norton
Total Officer Score |
£7,065
35/50 |
NA |
1 |
£ (in kind) £ 15,000 (cash) |
|
A Fresh Start for the Old Bakehouse
Total Officer Score |
£8,000
40/50 |
£10,000 |
1 |
£ (in kind) £ 35,000 (cash) |
|
Total |
£99,835 |
£43,378 |
|
|
|
Remaining budget |
£90,342 |
£46,622 |
|
|
Alternative options considered:
The Chief Executive could decide not to fund at the levels recommended above and instead refer the matter for further consultation with the Executive. This would necessitate a further review group meeting and delay determinations.
Publication date: 12/06/2025
Date of decision: 12/06/2025
Accompanying Documents:
PDF 258 KB