A COUNCILLOR has said he will be urging more local community groups to ask Wellington Town Council for financial support, after its finance committee approved a grant of almost £700 for Wellington Cricket Club.

Cllr Marcus Barr made the comment after he questioned why Wellington Cricket Club had asked for grant support from the town council for 12 years in a row. Although Cllr Barr said he had nothing against the cricket club, he did question whether it was right they could apply for funding year after year.

“Twelve years in a row they have come to us for a grant,” he said. “Are we a soft touch? Do they do their own fundraising?”

The cricket club had applied to the council’s finance committee for a grant for £696.42 for the hire of a sports hall for its annual youth cricket training sessions.

Wellington Cricket Club’s president Simon Spalding was at the meeting on December 12 and he told councillors that they raised a lot of money through their bar facilities. But he added that it had been a difficult year for the club over problems with the pitch and had made a loss of £9,000. “How the club managed to keep going for the whole season is incredible,” he said.

Cllr Barr suggested that perhaps the council could enter into a financial arrangement with the club – called a Service Level Agreement – where it could give them a set amount of money each year. “It would mean we wouldn’t have to go through these shenanigans every time,” he said.

Cllr Mike McGuffie agreed that if the council entered into a SLA with the club then councillors would be able to keep better tabs on how the funding was being spent.

Cllr John Thorne said: “I understand the point Cllr Barr is making, but this grant is for a one-off event. It’s not really applicable for an SLA which is there to support an organisation over a three-year period.”

Cllr Andrew Govier added: “I don’t think it’s suitable for a SLA either, but I appreciate how difficult it is to fund youth sport and the costs involved in running it.”

The committee voted in favour of supporting the cricket club’s application.