Darlington £50,000 fund scrapped after council vote
Labour and Liberal Democrat members in charge of Darlington Borough Council voted on Thursday to stop funding the scheme despite impassioned pleas to save it from Conservative and Green councillors. Council leaders said funding the scheme was unsustainable in the current economic climate.
Conservative Leader Jonathan Dulston called council members a “disgrace” and “borderline clueless” for voting down a plea to continue the support. “It’s a demonstration of how out of touch the Labour members are with the communities of our borough,” he added.
The programme was launched in 2019 and distributed £1,000 per year to each councillor to support individuals and groups to enhance local communities.
Anna-Maria Toms, of Harrowgate Hill ward, said the money has recently helped a local group fund weekly events at a local church, connecting residents with a warm safe space to combat loneliness.
She told a council meeting: “The stronger communities funding helps support vulnerable residents within our town, small community projects, and recently the beginnings of a youth partnership and connected communities.
“It is the only part of the council budget that can be directly influenced by residents to support them in ways that they choose for their local communities. This can be a lifeline for vulnerable residents to access other services.”
Costing an overall £50,000, supporters of the scheme said it was just a “tiny drop in the council budget”.
Cllr Toms added: “It is essential that during a time when residents are under constant financial pressure, and have very little control over how they are charged for services that are supposed to serve them, in this case, council tax, we give residents something that they can control and feel part of in the decision-making process.”
Other examples of councillors using the £1,000 for grassroots schemes include supporting non-profit groups with rent or events, providing equipment for Brownies and Guides groups and contributing to facilities such as park benches or play equipment.
However, only 23 out of 50 councillors used the funding in the last year.
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Roz Henderson, also a Green member for Harrowgate Hill, said: “What this brings to local communities is joy and there’s not a lot of that about for residents at the moment. Volunteers do an incredible job and they make this money stretch – they provide an amazing service. If people don’t agree with it, give it back.
A joint Conservative and Green Party motion at the meeting to keep the Stronger Communities Fund failed by 23 votes to 27.
Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We are scrambling around for every penny and the opposition just don’t get it. It is financial incompetence. In the big scheme of things, we can’t afford it.”