A THIRTY minute video trumpeting investment in Northumberland was branded as a diversion as councillors met on Wednesday to consider Northumberland County Council’s budget for the next 12 months.

A packed council chamber at Morpeth’s County Hall sat through the promotional video prepared by the council’s Labour administration which cited a £12m investment in new schools and 1,000 new affordable homes among other successes.

But members of the Northumberland Conservative group were quick to criticise the presentation. Haltwhistle’s Coun. Ian Hutchinson said: “Despite the leader suggesting this investment has gone to the whole county, looking at that anyone can see the vast majority is in the South-East.”

Conservative group leader, Coun. Peter Jackson, expressed his concerns about increasing debts built up by the council over the last four years, claiming the figure is set to rise to £1.4bn.

“There is a deliberate attempt to gloss over the issue of interest and debt repayments in the budget before us,” he said.

But Coun. Jackson was forced to admit his group had not come up with alternative figures, and councillors agreed cuts of £6m in 2017-18 and a total of £36m up to 2020.

A council tax increase of 1.99 per cent for the next three years was also agreed. Additionally there will be a three per cent increase for social care for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

“Increasing financial cutbacks are causing severe pressures, but this council is determined to deliver the best services for everyone,” said council leader Coun. Grant Davey.

“We face unique challenges in Northumberland due to our geography. We are coping with a 75 per cent reduction in revenue support grant over the next three years. Scarcity funding has been removed almost completely and it costs us three times more to deliver services in our very rural areas compared to more urban neighboring authorities.”

Due to strong opposition it was also agreed that a proposal for an £8.5m loan to Alnwick Garden for the development of a new theme park be removed from the budget until a detailed review had been carried out by the authority’s risk appraisal panel.

Supporting the budget, independent county councillor for Hexham West, Coun. Derek Kennedy, said: “There is a massive tension in my heart over this budget, but I have to balance that with what I want for the people of Hexham.”

He urged Coun. Davey to deliver on pledges to bring council staff back to Hexham, invest in the Queen’s Hall and Hexham House, and build a multi-storey car park.