New Milton councillor tackles £120,000 funding for rugby clubhouse

A TOWN councillor has hit out at plans to pump an extra £120,000 into refurbishing an inefficient ventilation system at New Milton Rugby Club’s changing rooms and assessing other local buildings.

Responding to the suggested revenue expenditure, which would contribute to an almost 50% increase in the amenities committee budget for 2019/20, Cllr Alan O’Sullivan argued it would put too much of a strain on taxpayers.

The rugby club’s Ashley base has been listed as a capital project for the committee due to the need to replace the domestic air extractors in each of its changing rooms.

These were installed when the 1930s building was last upgraded in 2006 but have been deemed inadequate in preventing high levels of condensation that form when the facilities are in use. As a result, there has been a build-up of mould which is said to be affecting the fabric of the structure.

Committee members put forward a recommendation for full council to approve increasing its budget to £534,999 for 2019/20 – 48.7% up from its 2018/19 projected figure of £359,771.

This would contribute towards increasing the amount each Band D household pays towards the town council precept from £78 to £95 – the equivalent of just under £2 a week.

It is hoped that the £120,000 can also go towards assessing and reviewing all of the town’s public buildings, and cover replacing a 26-year-old heating and hot water system at New Milton Town Football Clubs Fawcetts Field base.

However, if the sum proves insufficient, another amount could be put in the amenities budget for 2020/21.

Cllr Alan O’Sullivan said: “At both executive meetings I disagreed with that figure coming into the budget.

“The main reason is that it is putting an extra strain on our taxpayers who’ve already endured two years of above-inflation tax rises.”

Cllr O’Sullivan stressed he believed there were better ways to fund the improvements, such as spreading the costs over a period of time.

However, amenities chairman Cllr Geoffrey Blunden maintained it was “necessary” for all the town council’s buildings to undergo a planned maintenance regime.

Mayor Cllr David Rice-Mundy said: “It’s unpleasant to burden the taxpayer with extra costs, but there will be other projects to do.

“Next year it will be the football ground and the year after that there will be another one. We need to improve our facilities and make them better and better. We can’t just keep patching up.”

Cllr Blunden added: “We cannot continue putting plasters on this. We have to address the problem. Obviously, we will have further discussions at F&GP, but if we don’t want to do it, we’ve got to decide what we’re going to do to maintain our facilities.”

Referring to his own business’ practice of using a sinking fund for projects, Cllr Wyn Davies suggested the town council could adopt this method of putting a small sum aside each year in future.

Cllr Rice-Mundy’s proposal to recommend that full council accepts the increased amenities budget for 2019/20 was agreed by a majority vote, with only Cllr O’Sullivan voting against.

Cllr Goff Beck added: “We’ve got to do something, not just wait another year. If the answer is to increase the precept then we’ve got to do it.”