MORE than 2,600 residents from villages near Retford have objected to Bassetlaw Council’s decision to cut funding for services.
East Markham district councillor John Ogle together with parish councillor Rob Carlin and chairman Angie Brumpton submitted the petition on Friday.
Bassetlaw Council has reduced the concurrent grant to parish councils by 5.4 per cent this year and could withdraw it totally next year.
The grant funds village services from grass cutting and gardening to seating and play park maintenance.
Couns Ogle and Carlin said the funding changes would unfairly penalise people living in villages.
“This is a total injustice and it is unreasonable that villagers should have to bear their burden,” they said.
“This is effectively a double tax on residents and a case of villages having to subisdise the towns. It is totally unfair,” they said.
A Bassetlaw Council spokesman said the authority had not withdrawn concurrent grants from parish councils this year but could not confirm if this would be the case in 2014/15.
“However, these grants are a discretionary revenue payment to parish councils and following discussions with local parish representatives from NALC (National Association of Local Councils) it has been agreed that these grants will be reduced in line with the government grant reductions to Bassetlaw Council,” he said.
“Therefore concurrent grants will reduce by 5.4 per cent. this year by £2,600 to £46,200.”
He added: “There have been no reductions in the other service related element of £34,500 in respect of cemeteries and street cleaning grants.”
“As part of the Capital Programme for 2013/14 the Council has also included £50k for a rural CCTV project and £80k for a Local Improvement Scheme with parish councils and other local councils and groups.”