Bradford Sport
Keighley Cougars cash grant U-turn
9:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012
Keighley Cougars have been told that they will now receive a badly-needed £20,000 grant from Bradford Council after all.
Council leader Ian Greenwood has confirmed that the payment, which was set to be axed, would be made next month.
Club chairman Gary Fawcett said: “It’s really good news, I’m very pleased. It means we will be able to meet our financial plan.”
The Cougars feared they would lose the money following the publication of Bradford Council budget proposals which included cutting the funding for the rugby league club’s community work.
The recommendations formed part of efforts to save £31 million in order to cope with massive Government spending cuts.
The club had included the anticipated £20,000 grant in its 2012 budget, submitted last November for approval by the Rugby Football League.
On Tuesday Coun Greenwood said the club would receive the payment, but noted that it was not in the budget for the following year. Mr Fawcett responded that this was “fair warning”.
He added: “We would like to say thank you to the Council. They did take the step of making their proposals public for consultation, that was a good move. And we’d like to thank MP Kris Hopkins for championing the cause.”
A large proportion of the £20,000 funds the club’s work with local schools, to encourage pupils to do more sport and lead healthy lifestyles.
Keighley MP Mr Hopkins had previously written to Coun Greenwood to highlight the potentially “catastrophic” consequences for the Cougars if the money was not released.
Speaking after Coun Greenwood’s response he said: “It has been a very difficult and worrying few weeks for the Cougars and their fans, and I am thrilled at the outcome.”