Anger over cuts to green plan

Feb 4 2008

A COUNCILLOR has accused an authority of going back on its own green agenda by slashing funding to an environmental scheme.

Tory member Coun Matthew Ellis said Staffordshire County Council's cuts to funding and support from the Sustainable Staffordshire initiative puts a question mark against their own claim to be one of the UK's leading public bodies on combating global warning.

And he also accused the authority of making the cuts secretly to avoid embarrassment for ex-leader, Terry Dix, whose new position champions the county's green agenda.

But council chiefs said they were still funding major green initiatives and only the focus on where the money was spent had changed.

Coun Ellis said: "This issue came to light in December last year when I had letters from a number of parish councils stating their dismay at the county council's decision to withdraw support and funding from Sustainable Staffordshire.

"It's made even worse because since then I've been unable to obtain any details on how the decision was made and cannot find out which Labour politician made it."

But county council leader John Taylor said: "While we recognise the good work Sustainable Staffordshire has done in the community, we decided that it was time to shift the campaign up a gear and target the key levers of influence directly through partnership action.

"The county council is still supporting Sustainable Staffordshire with £6,000 of administration support."