King Charles coronation: North Yorkshire councillors approve new grants worth more than £15,000 to support events

More than a dozen members of North Yorkshire Council have collectively approved £15,650 worth of grants to support local events across the county celebrating the coronation of King Charles III.

The grants have come from councillors’ individual locality budgets which give each elected member an annual budget of £10,000 “to allow them to respond to local needs by recommending the allocation of small amounts of funding to support specific activities”.

Several new grants worth thousands of pounds have been approved by North Yorkshire Council in recent days.

As of Tuesday, May 2, the largest grants had come from Cllr Janet Jefferson who represents the Castle division in Scarborough.

Cllr Jefferson said that she approved £4,000 towards various events being held in her ward.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said that “all children and families living in Castle ward are welcome” to attend a coronation party at Friargate Community Primary School on Monday, May 8 from 1.30pm to 4.30.pm.

The events is set to include a bouncy castle and face painting, fancy dress parade, and tombola.

Cllr Jefferson said: “We are providing sandwiches, pies, sausage rolls and cake treats as well as tea and coffee.

“Families are very welcome to bring and share such things as cakes, biscuits and crisps.”

A large grant was also recently given by Cllr Matt Walker, who awarded £2,500 of his locality budget funding “to fund the hire cost of a television screen and refreshments for the King’s coronation concert event with Knaresborough and District Chamber”.

Meanwhile, Cllr David Jeffels, who represents the Derwent Valley and Moor division and Cllr Bridget Fortune, who represents the Hutton Rudby and Osmotherley division, have both approved £1,000 of funding.

Other councillors representing Scarborough areas also approved grants from their locality budgets, with councillors Phil Trumper, Derek Bastiman, and Liz Colling each approving grants between £350 – £400 for the purchase of food, refreshments, souvenirs, decorations, and hall hire.

The coronation weekend and bank holiday between Saturday, May 6 to Monday, May 8 will see events and street parties across the country celebrating King Charles’ accession to the throne.

Cllr David Jeffels said he was “happy to give grants to a number of villages” which he hoped would “encourage communities to get involved, especially in the wake of the Covid pandemic”.

Cllr Jeffels added: “I detect a return to the pre-pandemic period as people become enthusiastic about celebrating the coronation and at the same time join with friends and residents, in general, to give new impetus to community life which has become so important after a challenging time for so many people.”

In the past, locality budgets have been used by councillors to support a wide range of local initiatives including improving accessibility, purchasing IT equipment for community centres, and supporting cultural activities.

However, since North Yorkshire Council was formed, almost a third of locality budget grants have focused on coronation events with 15 grants ranging between £300 and £1000 having been approved since April 1.

In addition to purchasing food and refreshments, the grants have gone towards purchasing “a coronation mug for all the children in the parish with Spofforth Parish Council” as well as other souvenirs, raffle prizes, and entertainment.

While most councillors contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service said they were happy to fund such events from their locality budgets, one elected member questioned the use of public funds on coronation events.

Cllr Rich Maw, who represents the Weaponness and Ramshill division said that if he had been asked for funding he would “have to consider its merit weighed against other projects” but would prefer for coronation events to “be paid for by those who wish to participate in such”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Liz Colling, who represents the Falsgrave and Stepney division, said: “The coronation is an opportunity to invite all those participants, volunteers, and partners together to enjoy afternoon tea and each other’s company in a relaxed, familiar and friendly environment.

“I believe the benefits, in terms of building and reinforcing community links, addressing social isolation in the elderly, and encouraging social interaction is an appropriate use of my budget.”