18/10/07 - Borough Bails out Romsey Town Council

Borough Covers Cost of Queen's Visit

At a meeting of Test Valley Borough Council's Executive last night it was agreed that the Borough Council would make a £5,000 contribution to the costs of the Queen's visit to mark Romsey's Charter celebrations plus they would give an interest free loan for the balance of the amount they were looking for, namely £25,514.18

Cllr Caroline Nokes who moved the amendment to cover the shortfall said:

"There was of course no option for the Town Council when the additional and unbudgeted costs were revealed, it would have been unthinkable  to cancel the visit and I am sure all involved would agree that it was a great occasion and one that Romsey should rightly be proud of.  It is extremely unfortunate that the Police did not inform the Town Council earlier that they would be expected to pay for the risk assessment, barriers, etc and given that the TC had only put £20,000 aside to pay for the whole visit it was inevitable that they would be financially embarrassed by the eventual total bill.

"I did ask the Town Clerk last night why there had not been more provision made, but she informed me that the Council felt that it had enough in reserves to cover the cost of the visit, even if it rose by a significant sum.

"Of course it transpires that they did not, but by extending an interest free loan to the Town Council, over a period of three years, Test Valley has enabled the Town to put this embarrassment behind them and get their finances back on an even keel."