The Conservatives are challenging the decision made at Stockton Council’s last cabinet meeting, which would leave £450,000 to make new improvements to the market town.
This came after the council abandoned a regeneration scheme for Yarm High Street which had been rejected by residents and businesses.
Out of a £2.35m budget, the cabinet agreed to return £950,000 of council money to general funds to reduce a £6.7m budget gap.
The remaining £1.4m is out of a £20m pot from the previous government’s Levelling Up Fund, and leaders said that money should stay in the Yarm and Eaglescliffe area.
They agreed to use most of this to pay off £950,000 borrowing for improvements to Eaglescliffe’s Preston Park, another LUF project.
This left £450,000, for which regeneration cabinet member Councillor Richard Eglington said officers should look at proposals put forward and draw up a “short list of achievable and realistic options”, including the replacement of two unsafe fishing pontoons.
He said: “We should then ask the residents which ones of those schemes they wish to take forward. I want to be guided by the residents of Yarm.”
The cabinet meeting earlier this month heard Conservative and Labour councillors thank each other for working together on the issue. However, the Conservatives have since accused their political opponents of trying to strip, raid or rob Yarm of funding.
The Labour leadership has responded with the council leader saying she was disappointed with the challenge. Cllr Lisa Evans said they had “worked tirelessly” with businesses, residents and councillors.
Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers said: “This is as blatant as it gets.
Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers on Yarm High Street. Picture: Matt Vickers.
“Labour have wasted years sitting on this funding, coming forward with one bad idea after another, and now they’re trying to take the money away altogether to cover their own mistakes.
“Let’s be absolutely clear, this isn’t ‘reprioritisation’, it’s a raid on Yarm to bail out Labour’s financial mismanagement. Residents were ignored when Labour tried to force through parking charges.
“They were ignored again when Labour pushed a completely inappropriate scheme on the town without proper consultation. Now Labour’s answer is to take the money and spend it elsewhere.
“It shows a complete disregard for Yarm, for local businesses, and for the people who were promised this investment.
“When I secured this money from the last Conservative government it was on the agreement that it was to benefit Yarm and Eaglescliffe, and that residents would be properly consulted in how it would be spent, but now it’s being siphoned off to cover a mess of the council’s own making.
“This decision must be overturned, and the money must be spent where it was always intended, in our communities.”
Conservative group leader Cllr Tony Riordan said: “The role of the opposition within council is to hold to account the decision(s) of the ruling group.
Councillor Tony Riordan, the Conservative group leader on Stockton Council, who is also chairman of the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel. No attribution required. Free for use by all BBC wire partners.
“On this occasion, the Labour cabinet have decided to take away 80 per cent of the funding that consultees who took part in the ‘You Decide’ exercise expected to be in spent Yarm and Eaglescliffe.
“The decision by the Labour cabinet appears to have ignored the expectations of the people who responded to their ‘You Decide’ consultation exercise without explaining why.”
The Conservatives have “called in” the decision, meaning it will be debated, scrutinised and decided upon in a meeting of the council’s executive scrutiny committee at a future date. They are urging the council to reverse course and deliver a new plan.
Cllr Lisa Evans from Stockton Council. Picture: Gareth Lightfoot
Council leader Cllr Lisa Evans said: “The leader, deputy leader and cabinet member have constantly engaged with residents, businesses and visitors to Yarm. We have also spent numerous hours with Yarm councillors but sadly not the MP that chooses not to engage.
“The call in is valid and we will reconsider our position.”
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service their proposed course of action would help tackle the issue of borrowing, over which the Conservatives had also criticised the Labour leadership in a budget-setting debate, and the call-in would delay improvements to Yarm further.
She said: “I’m just very disappointed with the call-in because I’ve worked tirelessly with the residents, businesses and councillors of Yarm.
“We will continue to listen to the people of Yarm, and consider what they want.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login