Hull City Council mistake sees crime-fighting money spent on festive lights
AN INVESTIGATION has revealed public money earmarked for crime-fighting projects was spent on Christmas lights instead.
Steps are now being taken at Hull City Council to rectify the mistake.
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INQUIRY: Christmas lights in Newland Avenue. Picture: Jerome Ellerby
An inquiry by council auditors has confirmed that £13,540 spent on upgrading the festive illuminations in Newland Avenue, west Hull, was meant to fund community safety initiatives, such as gating schemes.
The money for the lights was wrongly taken from the council's Newland ward committee community safety fund budget in 2007.
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The inquiry was triggered after Labour Councillor John Shipley started examining old ward budget sheets.
He said it was not clear how spending on Christmas lights could have been justified as a community safety project.
Councillor John Fareham, the current Wyke area committee chairman, ordered the inquiry after the matter was raised by Cllr Shipley.
He said: "I am grateful that Cllr Shipley's continual probing has uncovered the truth of the matter.
"It would appear that an officer who no longer works for the Wyke team misread the balance of funds that were available and it would appear that members were misadvised about what funds were available.
"The original application for funding for the lights was misfiled and that led to members being misadvised on the balance of funds available.
"I am happy to say there was no cover up but I still hold that I can't see any need for the use of crime prevention funding for Christmas lights."
Cllr Fareham said measures were now being taken to rectify the mistake by transferring equivalent funds from the ward's current community safety budget to a general fund for neighbourhood initiatives.
The Christmas lights in Newland Avenue were the idea of traders on the street.
They were first switched on in 2001 and the annual switch-on ceremony now attracts thousands of spectators.
However, much of the funding to support the lights has come from the council over the years.
27 Comments
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by flamedtresses
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 9:28AM
“Newland Traders do pay for the lights, the grant is to help fund the switch on event too. It isn't cheap to close off Newland Avenue that is why a small section is closed off. The event is held to give something back to the local community. It involves local residents, schools, businesses, churches and other groups. Newland Traders is a voluntary group in which no one is paid. It takes alot of time and peoples own hours to organise the event. If we all got paid for doing it we would earn alot more than the grant money we are allocated. It is up to the individual traders associations to set up their own lights. I know there are other groups around that don't want to do simular projects as it is very hard work.
The lights are a thank you to the community to which we work amongst. For the few negative comments we get there are twice as many good comments given. To me HDM is really scrapping the barrel even publishing this. It isn't doing anyone any favours The grant money is no secret and anyone can go and ask to see the funding papers as well as attending local council meetings.
And yes Newland is thriving but not all businesses are. The Avenue has been changing and the small independant shops are dwindling. Keep shopping local!”
by profanity
Saturday, February 02 2013, 7:10AM
“Newland Avenue is one of only a few shopping streets in Hull that thrive. Hessle Road is another. They should be funding their own lights.
As in private enterprise; sack the idiot responsible and if we're going to spend on Christmas lights, spend it somewhere where the Street needs help.”
by Guido
Friday, February 01 2013, 8:03PM
“Councillors and officers accountable to the council tax payers, who so thoughtfully provide the wherewithall they get paid with? Investigative councillors? What quaint notions? It does make you wonder what else there might be waiting to pop out into the light of day!”
by cantstandu
Friday, February 01 2013, 6:15PM
“Mr Inglis your the one pushing a non story and why is that I wonder, you want it to stop, you want everyone to take your word for it. Not a chance on your fat salary of council tax payers money. The public deserves to see the evidence and the blame should be laid at the door of these senior councillors and senior officers and your not asking that question matey”
by ColinInglis
Friday, February 01 2013, 5:20PM
“@cantstandu, what are you wittering on about? I didn't blame anyone for anything, merely explained the position with the budgets!! Take more water with it would be my advice.....”
by places
Friday, February 01 2013, 4:49PM
“all these years it was believed newland ave. payed for there xmas lights , well suprise!suprise! look whats been found out, why should newland be different to every one else? carnt believe anything these days.”
by humperdink
Friday, February 01 2013, 4:48PM
“thats meant to be an upgrade??? let the councillor see the sack”
by cantstandu
Friday, February 01 2013, 3:39PM
“Forgot to say what a cheap shot blaming a lowly paid council worker, shame on you Inglis more attacks to the low paid staff whilst the BIG boys get away with it.”
by cantstandu
Friday, February 01 2013, 3:36PM
“No story cllr Inglis then why did cllr Shipley waste his time investigating it. Kiminhull is correct the chair signed it off and the responsible area director should have seen it , both are accountable to the council tax payers. It seems that all stories cllr Inglis disagrees with are not really stories at all ,hail Inglis . Cllr Shipley did well he must be a threat to cllr Inglis .”
by KiminHull
Friday, February 01 2013, 2:49PM
“Nope, It's ok trying to blame Officers but the minutes are clear, it was paid out of the Community Safety Budget and this was agreed by the Lib Dems and the Chair, Cllr Fareham. It's in black and white.
https://web5.hullcc.gov.uk/akshull/users/public/admin/kab12.pl?cmte=WYA&meet=19&arc=71"”