Councillors express ‘sadness’ as funding to improve wards scrapped as part of money saving measures

Every year each ward councillor in Peterborough is given £1,000 as part of the Community Leadership Fund (CLF) to spend in their ward to make residents’ lives better.

However, this year the fund has been scrapped ‘at short notice’ meaning that some councillors have spent their money - while others will not get the chance to. Normally the deadline for spending the money is in February, but the fund was scrapped last month as the authority had to make spending cuts.

Often the money is spent supporting community organisations - or by adding things such as benches and bins to the wards.

Peterborough City Council leader Wayne Fitzgerald said: “Capital spending has been frozen at the council for the time being and discretionary funding in all but essential areas has been curtailed.

This was a decision taken by the finance team given the councils current financial situation, however, all in year CLF spend that was already underway or had been promised will still be honoured.”

The CLF money comes from Section 106 funding, provided by developers working in the city. However, the CLF has been stopped as it may be ‘better used to fund schemes of greater priority and return on the Council core functions rather than to fund specific ward-based schemes.’

Following the news the funding had been stopped, Cllr Shaz Nawaz, leader of the Labour Party on Peterborough City Council said: “I was disappointed to hear CLF has been withdrawn at such short notice. I always use my full allowance every year supporting local causes that make significant contributions to the local community.

“Most of those organisations rely on external support and CLF monies help them with buying small capital items that keep organising operational.

“I was approached by a couple of organisations but had to give them the bad news. They were sad moments for me because both desperately needed financial assistance.”

Leader of the Green Party on the city council, Cllr Julie Howell said; “We were told in January that CLF was being frozen immediately and that no more could be spent unless it was already committed. This is because the council has been told to cease all capital spending.

“However, councillors and their communities rely on this money to make people’s lives a bit better. It isn’t very much but we have all become skilled at using that money to go a long way, and to have it torn from us without warning feels unfair.

“Had I known this was going to happen, I’d have spent the whole amount on community projects earlier in the year, rather than doing what I usually do which is wait until February to take my very careful decisions.

“It’s a shame. While we’re working very hard to get the council into a better position, decisions like this really hurt at the very heart of our communities.

“I’m now having to use the words ‘sorry’ and ‘not’ to the simplest requests, such as litter bins. When I explain the situation residents are understanding, but it’s yet another sacrifice after so many in the past two years and isn’t their fault.”

Cllr Nick Sandford, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Peterborough City Council said: “I’m in two minds about it. It is something that is useful when we would like to do something to improve our wards. But I can see the council is in severe financial difficulties - should they [rioritise CLF over adult social care, for example?”

Cllr Sandford said that in the past money in his ward has been used to plant trees on grass verges, partly to prevent people parking on them and churning the grass up.

Cllr John Fox, leader of the Peterborough First group on Peterborough City Council said: “ I am saddened that it has gone , but it is understandable. We are lucky in that we got our application in quite quick, so we will vbe getting litter bins and other things to improve the area.

“We’ll miss the CLF - if a councillor knows their ward well, they would know how to spend it.

“I completely understand the financial difficulties the council is in.”

In previous years the Peterborough Telegraph has reported how many councillors have spent their CLF money. Last year many said they were using the money for the Laptops for Schools campaign.

MORE: Many Peterborough councillors plan to use community money to help fund laptops for schools campaign