Councillors asked to return unused community funds

A cash-strapped city council has asked councillors to return unused community funds to support its financial position.

Each of the 60 Peterborough city councillors receive £3,000 yearly as part of a Community Leadership Fund (CLF) to support resident projects in their wards.

Peterborough City Council released a table of each councillor's CLF spending figures for 2024/25, with some spending all of their allocation and others spending nothing at all.

Following the local authority's budget earlier this year for 2025/26, councillors' CLF allocation will be reduced from £3,000 to £1,000 in a bid to save £120,000 a year.

In October, councillors were given the option to forgo any unspent CLF funding but were free to do so if they wished.

Conservative councillor for West ward, Wayne Fitzgerald, leader of the Conservative group, was among those who spent none of their CLF.

Mr Fitzgerald said: "We had earmarked the money for several projects in our case, however, we had to put them off because it was requested where councillors hadn't committed to give the money back to the central pot."

Labour councillor for Bretton, Richard Strangward, said he was going to spend the funds on a larger project planned which didn't come off.

Green Party leader Nicola Day, of the Orton Waterville ward, spent £5,000 of her CLF allocation, including around £2,000 carried over from last year to fund defibrillators, roof repairs at a local football club - and to set up a mental health support group.

Peterborough First councillors John and Judy Fox, and Sarah Hillier, of Werrington ward, spent all of the allocations.

Mr Fox said: "I think if you are given that money to spend on the community then that is what you should do."

A spokesperson for the city council said: "All unspent money has been rolled forward to the next financial year (2025/26)."

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