A DISPUTE has broken out at Alton Town Council whether £40,000 allocated for a mountain biking pump track in Anstey Park should be considered “council money”.

The authority is running a consultation until January 31 whether it should be built – and has told residents on its website and in its newsletter The Altonian Weekly that the £80,000 project would be at “no cost to the taxpayer”.

Although the money would come from reserves, the council said it would use £40,000 earned by leasing land to EE for a phone mast rather than council tax funds. But town councillor Gideon Cristofoli said: “It is my understanding Alton Town Council can use this £40,000 for anything it chooses and so it is clearly council money.”

His view that it was not ring-fenced for a pump track was confirmed by town clerk Leah Coney, who said: “The lease, which was agreed by Alton Town Council in 2017, was for £40,000 with a company called Shared Access, acting for telecom company EE, and has no restrictions upon the use of the funds.”

Cllr Cristofoli said: “The wording in the consultation makes it sound like the money was raised specifically for this project via third parties.

“It will clearly have an effect upon the public’s response to the project consultation if they believe they are getting a new asset without any cost.

“If the public understood £40,000 of Alton Town Council funding was being spent on it, then it may change the outcome of the consultation, as there are many Alton Town Council assets which require immediate maintenance and repair, for which we are often told there is no money.

“I am not against the track as a potential asset but object to the way it is being presented and rushed through. Maybe the public consultation should be focused on what kind of things we could be spending the £40,000 on. I think this would better represent true democracy and a voice for residents across Alton. They are not getting this from the current leadership at the moment.”

Mrs Coney added: “The council has been clear in its correspondence to Cllr Cristofoli that the wording of the consultation is fair and accurate. There will be no funds generated through council tax which will be used for the project, should it proceed.

“The mayor and leader have confirmed to me they are content with the wording as it stands.”