Bridgnorth twin town visit 'will go ahead' despite funding concerns
The chairman of the Bridgnorth Twinning Association has vowed this year's event 'will go on' despite concerns over the level of funding they will receive from the town council.
A meeting of the twinning association was held after a town council meeting on Tuesday said the association would need to make a grant application to host visitors from Schrobenhausen and Thiers in June.
A letter from chairman Ron Whittle asked them for up to £3,500 to cover the costs incurred on the visit, from Friday June 3 to Sunday June 5.It said the main cost would be a formal dinner held for the guests on the Friday evening.
But councillors expressed concern over the amount asked for, with some saying guests could afford to pay for their own dinner and that it was an unfair burden on the tax payer.
The twinning group has now made a formal application for grant funding for the event, which will celebrate 30 years of twinning with Schrobenhausen, which is in the Bavarian region of Germany.
But Mr Whittle said with it not being considered until the next meeting in the middle of May, a contingency would need to be put in place in case the funding was turned down.
He said: "We have money in our reserves and we are able to use that for this event but it does bring into question the long-term future of the twinning visits because it wouldn't be the case that we could use those reserves every year.
"I understand there are some doubts generally about town twinning in this day and age where more people have access to travel and do so, but I do think there is a lot of cultural value to be had from them and they can be educational as well as forging friendships with the towns we are twinned with.
"We work with Bridgnorth Town Council to organise these events, they are the body who authorise them and who provide the facilities to host dinners and evening events when they take place and traditionally they have been very generous with funds as well.
"I am more than happy to make a grant application in the same way as any other group - my only concern is the time frame between deciding what money will be forthcoming and the actual visit, which is why we are looking at using some of our reserves, but perhaps we need to come to a formal agreement for visits in the future."
