Local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton has expressed concern about inconsistencies in how wards are being permitted to spend limited ward funding, after he was refused permission to have repairs made to a damaged community noticeboard.
The perspex cover of the community noticeboard on Moorcroft Road has been smashed
Shortly after coming into power, York’s new Labour administration froze the ward funding that had been allocated in the 2023/24 budget by the then Lib Dem / Green administration. Three-member wards such as Dringhouses & Woodthorpe were permitted to spend £2,393 but it was made clear that this could only be spent on items such as summer holiday activities for children or schemes to support residents suffering from social isolation. Dringhouses & Woodthorpe councillors therefore invested the limited funds available on the popular free kickabout sessions run by York City FC Foundation.
It has become apparent however that the rules around how this funding can be spent have not been consistently applied. Labour-held Micklegate ward, for example, was allowed to spend £175 on repairing a damaged community noticeboard on Scarcroft Green.
When Cllr Fenton sought permission for similar repairs to be made to the damaged community noticeboard in Woodthorpe, the request was turned down by council officers.
Cllr Fenton has called on the Labour administration to reverse the ban on ward spending so that it can be invested in local priorities. He said “It is deeply ironic that the poster advertising the free summer holiday activities will soon be illegible due to the rain pouring in through the shattered perspex which the council refuses to repair.
“Labour say that they are going to make some more ward funding available, but we have no idea how much or when. It’s a complete shambles. If we had known that we could have kept back some of the £2,393 for emergency repairs, we would have done so.
“Given the continued ban on ward spending, I’ll fund the repairs to the Moorcroft Road noticeboard out of my own pocket.”