Company Set up by Four Councillors Back For Another £9,350 Of Public Money

Four councillors helped set up E927 CIC – now the company is seeking a second grant from the Eden Locality Board, taking its direct funding to £20,000

A COMPANY set up by four Liberal Democrat councillors is back seeking thousands more pounds of public money, with members being asked to recommend another £9,350 grant at a meeting in Penrith this evening.

E927 CIC, established to deliver parts of the Eamont 927 anniversary celebrations, has already received approval for a £9,500 in grants from Westmorland and Furness Council to develop a website promoting the project. The latest application would take the total direct funding from Westmorland and Furness Council to almost £20,000.

The fresh bid is for a living-history weekend featuring historical demonstrations, traditional crafts and mock battles to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the gathering at Eamont in 927, after which Athelstan became the first King of the English.

The recommendation is due before councillors at Voreda House this evening, with a report prepared by Westmorland and Furness Council's Eden Community Development Team advising members to award the £9,350 from the board's priorities budget.

The four Liberal Democrat councillors behind the company are Mark Rudhall, Lorna Baker, Nicki Vecqueray and Adrian Waite. All four are unpaid directors of the community interest company.

Penrith.Town previously reported on the company's £6,000 website funding application and the issue of the councillors' directorships not initially appearing on their council declarations of interest. The council subsequently updated the declarations, attributing the delay to an administrative error.

The four councillors withdrew when the original website grant was considered in July because of their positions within E927 CIC.

The latest bid is for a separate part of the celebrations, rather than another website grant. The council's report says the money would pay for hiring a field and re-enactment groups, with further planning continuing for the wider weekend programme.

Organisers estimate that around 2,000 people a day could attend the event, including children and young people. The intention is to make the celebrations reasonably priced or free, while attracting visitors and raising awareness of the area's historical significance.

The wider Eamont 927 project aims to commemorate the gathering associated with Athelstan's emergence as the first King of the English, while supporting local heritage, tourism and the economy.

But it is the latest request for public money by the councillors' own company that will put the proposed grant under scrutiny.

The £9,350 recommendation is not yet an approved award. Members of the Eden Locality Board are being asked to support the application and allocate the money from their priorities budget at this evening's meeting.