ALTON Community Association has been offered “a one-year ticket to the last chance saloon” by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) following a plea to councillors not to axe its partnership funding.

As EHDC prepared to freeze its portion of the council tax bill, backed by claims that it would not result in cuts to frontline services, councillors had a change of heart over withdrawing funding to community centres – but for one year only.

While welcomed with a sense of relief by Alton Community Association, it was with a feeling of concern that the work it does in providing subsidised services for some of the most vulnerable in the community may no longer be considered by the district council as frontline.

Despite claims by EHDC that it had provided plenty of warning of the decision to cut the financial tie, it came as a shock to the community association which argued that to do so would “sever a vital life line from which it may not recover”.

Those at EHDC’s full council meeting at Penns Place, Petersfield, on Thursday were left in little doubt as to the strength of feeling over the potential loss of the £6,000 grant and its impact on the ability of the group to continue its work at Alton Community Centre.

Representing Alton Labour Party, Jan Treacher handed in a petition signed by more than 1,000 people who “use and care for the centre” and who, she said, were “horrified by this huge cut”.

She told councillors: “We want to hear how the centre, which is an indispensable resource for the people of Alton and beyond, is expected to continue with such a large amount of funding being withdrawn.”

Alton Community Association chairman Pat Lerew had four points to make to the council but was headed off at the pass by authority leader Richard Millard, who felt it important to establish the facts surrounding the decision to withdraw funding for partnership-funded organisations. While continuing to fund East Hampshire Citizens Advice and Community First, the decision had been made to bring to an end a three-year funding agreement with local community associations, and to carry out a review of partnership funding policy to establish how best to support the most vulnerable communities.

Mr Millard insisted that, like all partnership-funded organisations, Alton Community Association had been advised over the years that its funding was coming to an end in 2018 and contact made concerning meetings to discuss a proactive and sustainable way forward without the need for EHDC funding.

However, following public concern, Mr Millard said that “the council is minded to take a different tack” and would return to Cabinet with a view to reinstating the 2018/19 grants, but for one year only and with a caveat that EHDC would work with Alton Community Association to help improve the running of the centre.

He added that while recognising “the grand service you and your volunteers do, this is not a bottomless pit”.

Since Alton’s was only one of a number of centres impacted by the withdrawal of partnership funding, his challenge now was to go back to Cabinet to find the £51,000 needed to reinstate the funding.

Ferris Cowper, portfolio holder for finance, explained that he had devised the partnership funding strategy during his time as leader with the intention of changing the way in which funding was channelled into the voluntary sector, moving away from the handout culture to one of mutual self-help. And this year, he suggested, would provide a chance to re-engage in constructive debate on the issue.

Guy Shepherd, portfolio holder for regeneration delivery, added that EHDC was currently working with stakeholders, including partnership, to look at providing a new community building on the Coors Brewery site.

Insistent that Alton Community Association’s recollection of the funding debacle was not the same as EHDC’s, Mrs Lerew pointed out that the community association was in “a vulnerable position”, especially as it had been given just two months notice of the decision to withdraw funding, which had come as “a tremendous blow”.

Relieved, however, by the proposal to look at reinstating the grant for 2018/19, Mrs Lerew agreed to withdraw her questions which asked why the review had not been undertaken before funding was cut and why community centres were apparently not to be treated as essential services, administering to the most vulnerable people in the community.

In a statement after the meeting, EHDC confirmed that it had been recommended that “associations annually funded by EHDC will receive a further year’s grant funding” since it had become apparent that, despite being informed three years ago that their funding would end in 2018, some partnership-funded organisations needed further support while the review was taking place.

The additional year’s funding would be awarded “alongside various conditions intended to ensure it is used on work that meets EHDC’s social priorities”.

Committed to supporting partnership organisations, there was an assurance given that “EHDC will be working with these organisations over the next few months as part of a larger review of grants and a new assistant portfolio holder will be appointed to oversee this work.”