COUNCILLORS have deferred an application for a grant worth thousands from an Andover charity due to a lack of details. 

Unity applied for £7,500 from Andover Town Council to “pilot a flexible, responsive programme of pop-up event” in Andover.

The application was in addition to requests for £1,000 from Hampshire County Council and £1,200 from Test Valley Borough Council.

The community and events committee recommended that 75 per cent of full asking amount may be approved.

However, councillors decided to defer a decision after an hour-long debate at a meeting of the full council due to lack of details in the application.

This was to give Unity time to amend the application and provide more details.

Commenting on the application, Cllr Robin Hughes said: “What they're asking for is far too much. I'm not sure they're going to allow us to actually judge whether we get value for money, because that's a lot of money for one pop up event. If it's 70 events, it's worthwhile. There's no real detail.

“I certainly couldn't support what they're asking for.”

Cllr Luigi Gregori also supported Cllr Hughes’ arguments and said the application lacked specific details. 

He said: “I'm a bit concerned with the application. When I look at it, there's very little specifics. I feel very uncomfortable. That's not the way we treat other people who are coming here – especially some of the people who do not have professionals. Yet when it comes to Unity, with all due respect, there is a lack of details. So I'm very uncomfortable.”

Reacting to the comments, Unity’s representative said the grant application was for Andover area alone.

The grant application was made after Unity conducted a consultation among youth in Andover in partnership with Dmitrijs Meiksans, the member of the Youth Parliament for Northwest Hampshire.

Young people aged 11-16 were asked about the current state of youth provision in Andover and surrounding areas. Unity said 883 young people took part in the survey.

The report said: “Some of the issues raised will take a while and a lot of multi-agency cooperation to address. However, it is important to follow up such a consultation with some quick wins to reassure young people that the consultation was meaningful and so promote a positive engagement in local democracy. Unity is in the ideal position to respond quickly on behalf of the community. This project is designed as the first step in responding to the views expressed by young people.”

Unity said beneficiaries would include more than 2,000 young people aged 12-24 living in the Andover Town Council catchment.