The council is accused of threatening to withdraw funding from the Ryedale charities

Funds awarded by Ryedale District Council (RDC) prior to its abolition will now be reassessed by the new council before a decision is made on whether funds will be disbursed to the successful organisations.

Ten organizations have successfully applied for a stake in the Council’s £3m Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund.

But at a board meeting in North Yorkshire last week, councilors were told Ryedale had failed to follow due process.

Funding will now be discussed at NYC’s AGM today (May 17).

NYC Cllr Steve Mason said, “It seems to me that NYC does not trust the process that RDC has undertaken and is duplicating that process yet again, at what cost to the taxpayer?” Not only to the agency, but to the applicants in volunteer work and commitment. I know hundreds of hours have gone into this process.

“As far as I can see all hurdles have been cleared to ensure the residents of Ryedale are getting what is rightfully theirs. Funds were allocated within the Sovereign Council rules of the time, within timetables and within legal parameters.

“I suspect what I’m seeing here is target posts being moved, different criteria being used and the money being squandered making up for deficits in other areas of the municipal budget. I hope these assumptions are wrong.”

Di Keal, Chair of the RDC Policy and Resources Committee, when the CIL program was agreed, said: “It is totally unacceptable that NYC is treating the charities and other groups that have successfully applied for funding to the Borough Council in this way .”

“Each project has undergone thorough application and evaluation and will deliver excellent projects that will benefit many thousands of people of all ages across Ryedale.

“Some members of NYC have referred to this as ‘tax money’ when in fact it is money that comes from housing developments in Ryedale and should be spent as such in Ryedale.

Councilor George Jabbour, who asked a question at the board meeting, said he had been contacted by a number of organizations concerned about their applications to the CIL.

“Following the direction of the Secretary of State, the RDC decided to launch the CIL grant program to fund local projects. However, they did so without obtaining Section 24 consent from the local competent authority.

“Nevertheless, a number of organizations have applied to the CIL Grants Scheme, incorrectly believing that RDC has the authority to award CIL funds.

“NYC has a duty to consider every decision involving the spending of taxpayers’ money based on the priorities and needs of the local community. I expect the Council to do the same carefully on this matter.

“Having looked at the individual projects that the various organizations have applied for funding, I think they are all excellent. I also believe that the members of the board would agree that they too would support these projects if there were sufficient funds.”

Cllr Gareth Dadd, executive director for finance and resources, said the merits of each case would be reviewed.

“Once the views of officials have been gathered, North Yorkshire Council will write to all organizations involved and advise them when the report is due to be examined.”