Tynedale to hand over £20m nest egg

12.00.00am GMT Sat 1st Nov 2008

Hexham Courant, Friday, 31 October 2008 - Despite having paid the £10 million bill for Hexham's new swimming pool, Tynedale Council still has £28 million in the bank, according to new figures.

And most of that carefully nurtured nest egg from the council tax payers of Tynedale now seems certain to go into the gaping coffers of the new Northumberland unitary authority.

The news has sparked a major political row, with Liberal Democrats accusing the Tories of wasting Tynedale's "golden legacy" and the Tories hitting back with accusations of "ignorance and mischief making."

"I could weep at this news," said arch critic of Tynedale's financial policies, Coun. Derek Kennedy, of Hexham - even though he is a member of the controlling Liberal-Democrat group on the new council.

As long ago as 2004, he was urging the Conservative-controlled council to "spend, spend, spend" to ensure Tynedale's cash - mostly accrued from the sale of its council houses - was spent in this district.

Coun Kennedy said this week: " It is staggering that five years after we begged the Tories to spend the money in Tynedale before it was too late, they are likely to hand over at least £20 million.

"I am bitterly disappointed; a golden legacy has been lost for the residents of Tynedale."

He accused the Conservatives of being naive in keeping cash back on the presumption that new council offices would be built in Hexham's Wentworth car park to replace the present aging accommodation.

The new council has indicated such premises will not be needed.

Coun Kennedy added: "It was always going to be a race against time to spend the money and the race has been lost.

"Nobody can say the Liberal Democrats did not warn of this outcome.

"We tried everything from suggesting the building of the new Hexham swimming pool to offering a council-tax free year to the people of Tynedale."

Questions about Tynedale's millions have also been posed by the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Hexham, Andrew Duffield, who has called for the Tories to come clean over the amount of cash it will be forced to surrender to the new council.

He said even after the pool had been paid for, there was still £28 million of Tynedale taxpayers' money to be accounted for.

He said: "From the figures I have seen, around £6 million is due to be paid to Northumberland County Council and to Northumbria Police as part of their normal share of tax receipts.

"That leaves a massive balance of over £20 million in the coffers."

He demanded to know exactly how much would be handed over, and why the Tories did not commit to spending the surplus.

He went on: "Tragically, in just five months' time, Tynedale's fortune will have been lost.

"The Tory 'lock the money in a bank vault' plan has failed local residents spectacularly."