THOUSANDS of pounds of Local Improvement Fund money has been spent on the Air Festival by Bournemouth councillors.

According to the council, the LIF - an annual sum of £1,500 per councillor - is to be spent on “projects that benefit the community” such as “young people, families, older people, disability groups and community projects”.

Figures obtained by the Daily Echo show that, since 2012, nearly £7,000 from the fund has been donated to the Air Festival by councillors from the Boscombe East, Central, East Cliff and Springbourne, Queen's Park, Westbourne and West Cliff and West Southbourne wards.

Much of that money appears to have been spent on membership of the festival's Patrons 100 Club, which costs £250 to join and hosts hospitality and networking events.

The issue was first brought to light by members of Pokesdown Community Forum, who made a Freedom of Information request about their own ward councillors.

Forum member Ben Smith said: “We asked the council what the LIF was being spent on but they refused to say.

“Shouldn't this money be going towards schools, libraries, that sort of thing.

“The Air Festival is successful, it doesn't need to rely on taking funding away from those things.

“What are these councillors getting in return? It seems to be in return for hospitality from the Patrons 100 Club, but that is of little use to Boscombe East, where the money is meant to be spent.”

LIF money is derived from the council's central budget, and any not allocated by the end of the financial year is returned there.

Members of the 2014 Patrons 100 Club included mayor Chris Mayne and leader John Beesley, along with cllrs Carol Ainge, Mark Anderson, Blair Crawford, Anne Filer, Michael Filer, Barry Goldbart, Cheryl Johnson, David Kelsey, Christopher Rochester, Allister Russell, Rae Stollard and John Wilson.

The club includes a wide array of local businesses, charities and institutions among its members.

In a statement, cllr Beesley said supporting the Patrons scheme with LIF money allowed councillors “the opportunity to encourage more private donations for the festival”.

“Such support has also allowed funds to be used for the Night Air Display programme,” he said.

“Obviously Bournemouth residents benefit from the success of the Air Festival, with the event contributing enormously to the local economy.

“It is therefore vital that support for it continues so it can go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

He said he hoped less financial support would be required from the council in future.

Pokesdown Community Forum learned that Boscombe East councillors John Wilson and Christopher Rochester had, from 2012 to the present, donated the bulk their LIF money to various causes including Pokesdown Community School, the Friends of Fisherman's Walk and Boscombe Carnival.

But over that time they had also given £1,850 to the Air Festival.

Cllr Wilson said: “The Air Festival is a major part of our ward, it takes up the whole seafront down here and brings many tourists into the area - tourists who spend money in the shops.

“Our job as patrons is to promote the festival, we have put it on our website, we do promotional work, we attend events.”

He said most of his allocation was spent “in the ward, a very high percentage in Pokesdown”, and that he and his colleagues wouldn't decide where to spend the bulk of the LIF until later in the year.

FIGURES (where grouped the LIF was distributed collectively in that ward)

2012/13

  • Cllr John Wilson £250
  • Cllr Christopher Rochester £250
  • Cllr David Kelsey £250
  • Cllr Anne Filer £250
  • Cllr Michael Filer £250
  • Cllr Carol Ainge £83.34
  • Cllr Cheryl Johnson £83.34
  • Cllr Mark Anderson £83.34
  • Cllr John Beesley £84
  • Cllr Barry Goldbart £83
  • Cllr Rae Stollard £83

2013/14

  • Cllrs Linda Bailey, Christopher Rochester & John Wilson £800
  • Cllrs Jane Kelly, Phillip Stanley-Watts & Christopher Wakefield £250
  • Cllrs Robert Herbert Chapman, Mike Greene & David Smith £250
  • Cllr Carol Ainge £83.34
  • Cllr Cheryl Johnson £83.34
  • Cllr Mark Anderson £208.34
  • Cllrs John Beesley, Barry Goldbart & Rae Stollard £1,500
  • Cllrs Blair Crawford, Chris Mayne & Allister Russell £250

2014/15 (to date)

  • Cllr John Wilson £250
  • Cllr Christopher Rochester £300
  • Cllrs Anne Filer, Michael Filer & David Kelsey £750
  • Cllr Cheryl Johnson £125
  • Cllrs Blair Crawford, Chris Mayne & Allister Russell £250