Discretionary Rate Relief (DRR) Guidelines for Voluntary Sporting Organisations.

Any sporting organisation applying for DRR will be assessed using the following guidelines.

The following information details the criteria against which sporting organisations will be assessed when applying for DRR. This system is based on the guidelines for the award of DRR adopted by the Council in 1995. All categories have an equal importance, however more points are available for those activities & categories that provide the most significant benefit to sport within the Borough. In addition to the overall scoring system, organisations are required to fulfill certain mandatory categories in order to qualify for DRR.

Assessment Guidelines

SECTION 1
Organisation based locally & benefits local people

1. 70% of members residing in the Borough or
2. At least 40% of members for a specialist organisation

SECTION 2
Accessibility / Membership

1. No restrictions or restricted by providing for a specific sector of the community for justifiable reasons such as redressing inequality.
2. A Junior section exists within the organisation
3. Reductions are available for Passport To Leisure card holders
4. Reductions available for U18’s

SECTION 3
Financial Reserves

1. No substantial financial reserves (in excess of two years operating costs for the organisation)
2. Reserves exist but a Sports Development Plan & Business Plan exist which detail how these are to be used to the benefit of the local community / organisation.

SECTION 4
Bar Income

1. Where a organisation operates social facilities and social membership exceeds 70%
2. No bar on site or bar income produces an overall surplus which helps support the organisations sporting activities

SECTION 5
Membership of the Local Sports Forum

1. Clubs are members of Nuneaton and Bedworth Sports Forum

SECTION 6
Commitment to Sports Development

1. Organisation submits a sports development plan covering a minimum period of one year.
2. Organisation provides evidence of the growth & expansion of its sporting activities during the last four years.
(Please use the template Appendix 1 supplied by NBLT)
3. The organisation is either an active participant in one of the Borough sports development organisations or is working in partnership with the Council to develop an identified project, which will benefit residents of the Borough.
4. The organisation has obtained Quality Organisation status through the Council / Sports Forum Quality Organisation Accreditation scheme

SECTION 7
Facilities

1. Provides facilities, which would not otherwise be available within the Borough that are available for community use.
2. Provides facilities complimentary to those provided by the Council(i.e. of a higher standard & available for competitive play at a higher level than existing council facilities or the facility helps meet a known demand above the availability of Council facilities)