COMMUNITY centres in Cam and Dursley have been left waiting for confirmation of tens of thousands of pounds of funding after a council blunder. 

For months both Cam parish and Dursley town councils have been discussing how £355,000 in funding for community centres should be split, with the funding coming from money Stroud District Council received from the housebuilder behind the Littlecombe development, St Modwen.

But when Dursley Town Council’s recommendation was listed in a report to the district council, a SDC employee made a mistake with the figures.

This error was discovered too late for the report to be amended, meaning the funding was not approved as expected at last Thursday’s meeting.

Final confirmation of which community groups will benefit from the money will now not be made until the committee’s next meeting in October.

Committee chairman Cllr Steve Lydon apologised for the error at last week’s meeting, adding: “I’m assured that it’s not time critical so it is okay to be discussed next time when we will ensure that all information contained therein will be accurate.”

Dursley and Cam councils had invited bids from community groups for a share of the Section 106 funding from St Modwen.

Cam Parish Council recommended more than £220,000 be given to the Chantry Centre in Dursley, £50,000 each to Kingshill House and Dursley Tabernacle, and £32,000 to GL11 Community Hub in Cam.

Dursley Town Council recommended £200,000 for the Chantry Centre, £100,000 for Dursley Community Centre and £20,000 for GL11, with the remainder held as a contingency.

But the SDC committee’s report said the town council had suggested £230,000 be awarded to the Chantry Centre, £100,000 to Kingshill House and £25,000 to GL11. 

When the town council’s clerk, John Kay, noticed the error he asked that it be corrected with “urgency” but this was not done in time for last week’s meeting.

The £355,000 is required to be paid prior to completion of the 192nd house, which is expected between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020.

A spokesman for Stroud District Council said: “Unfortunately the funding recommendations from the town council were not accurately set out in our report. 

“Consequently the item will be covered at the next meeting including the amended recommendation. 

“Whilst the meeting has been delayed, the funding is unlikely to be received until 2019 at the earliest, but we will be working closely with the developer to see if they can release the money earlier to maximise benefit to the local community.”