2021-07-06 Planning & Environment Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                      6 JULY 2021


All promotion was concurrent with the Community Grants Program and the Regional Arts
Development Fund.
Six Environment Project Grant applications were received as part of this round of Environment
Project Grants and were assessed by a member of the Environment Services Team with
experience assessing grants and environmental subject-matter expertise. These
recommendations were moderated by the Environment Services Manager and Director,
Environment & Sustainable Development. Three of these six were recommended for full funding,
one for partial funding, one for funding from an alternate source, and one for no funding at this
time.
The project application by Noosa Integrated Catchment Association, Urban Wildlife Gardens
Towards 200, was supported for funding as a project. At moderation, a decision was made to fund
the program directly, rather than through the Environment Grants Program. The project relates
directly to an implementation action of the Noosa Environment Strategy, and there is specific
funding already set aside to support these actions. This will free up funds for other community
projects to be supported.
Two local environmental groups applied for an Environmental Alliance Grant. This was a closed
process, with the two groups being invited to apply following contacting Council. The Environmental
Alliance Grants are widely advertised every three years, however sometimes new groups emerge
within that time gap. In this circumstance both groups are quite new, so after they contacted
Council, they were invited to apply.
While Environment Alliance Grants are typically for three years, these two groups are only being
offered funding for one year. This is because all other Environmental Alliance Grants are due for
renewal in 2022, and this will enable them to be assessed against all local groups within the
provided budget parameters at that time.
Previous Council Consideration
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 18 June 2020, Item 5, Page 9
That Council note the report by the Environment Services Manager to the Planning & Environment
Committee Meeting dated 9 June 2020 and approve the Environment Project Grants funding
recommendations for this round as outlined in Attachment 1 to the report.
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 19 September 2019, Item 6, Page 9
That Council note the report by the Environmental Services Manager to the Planning & Environment
Committee Meeting dated 10 September 2019 and:
A.   Repeal the Environment Grants Policy adopted on 21 February 2019 and adopt the revised
     Environment Grants Policy provided at Attachment 1 to the Report with the additional words
     included under the heading of Council Policy: “All initiatives funded by the Environment
     Grants Program will have tangible and measurable outcomes.”
B.   Note the Draft Multi-year Collaborative Environmental Grants - Operating Guideline provided
     at Attachment 2 to the Report, developed by the Environment Levy Working Group, as per
     the Environment Grants Policy; and
C.   Approve the Environment Grants being directed towards outcomes of the Biodiversity and
     Waterways, Wetlands & Coasts sections of the Noosa Environment Strategy, while the
     Environment Levy remains the sole funding source for the Grants.
Finance
The funding for this round of grants will not be allocated until July 2021 and will therefore come
from the 2021/22 financial year budget. It is anticipated that $75,000 will be available for
Environment Project Grants for the financial year, consistent with the 2020/21 financial year. This
will be spread over two advertised grant rounds, concurrent with the Community Grants Program.



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