Shropshire town council to spend £30,000 on youth provision and civic centre development
A Shropshire town council has agreed to use a special fund worth £30,000 to pay for youth provision and Civic Centre developments in its 2020/21 budget.
Whitchurch Town Council unanimously agreed to split the contents of the town’s Harry Richards fund equally on activities and support for youth services in the town and ongoing improvements to the town’s civic centre.
The fund was set up after Harry Richards, a prominent Whitchurch man, died and left a substantial sum for the benefit of the townsfolk.
Councillor Alan Chesters said the funds would compensate for the lack of money available to help with these provisions.
“I think the Harry Richards fund should be spent,” he said. “We have not got the money so we have to get it from somewhere.
“We had insufficient funds from the precept from the amount of money forecast for the next year. There would have to be a substantial increase on the precept if we did not get it from somewhere else.
“The civic centre, as and when we own it, or before, will have lots of projects that will benefit not only this town but surrounding areas and make it a better place for growth.
“It is also something we have to look at next year because we will be in the exact same situation if things do not change and we can’t keep dipping into these funds.”
Councillor Andy Hall also noted that the fund should be spent on things that will benefit the town.
After youth funding was cut by Shropshire Council recently, Whitchurch Town Council decided to pay for the provision out of its own funds.
The town’s Civic Centre has also been earmarked for development and the extra funding will go towards it.
