BROMSGROVE council chiefs have backed a controversial plan that will see less than £90,000 of New Homes Bonus (NHB) money passed on to communities.

At a meeting of Bromsgrove District Council's cabinet last night (Wednesday February 4) members approved the plan to pass on £87,000 which will now have to go to full council.

The issue has caused a storm of protest from villagers and last April angry Hagley residents handed a petition to the authority calling for NHB money be passed on to communities, like the village, affected by housing development.

This followed a previous decision by councillors to place money from the scheme into a central pot.

The council receives £1,455 for each home built plus extra money for each affordable one, and Conservative councillors had argued that previously NHB money had been used to avoid cuts to frontline services.

A cross-party working group was established and at a lively meeting in December a draft scheme of £84,000, earmarked for communities in 2015/16 from funds, was branded an insult by Hagley Action Group.

This figure was equal to 20 per cent of £420,152 paid to the authority under the NHB scheme.

Earlier this year a NHB allocation scheme was approved by councillors, setting out how grants can be applied for - as long as the business case shows evidence an area has been affected by housing growth.

At the cabinet meeting, finance portfolio holder Michael Webb announced the figure being proposed to go in this year's NHB scheme would be £87,000.

This is 25 per cent of the final 2015/16 grant of £348,000, with the council receiving a total grant of £1.2 million.

Cllr Webb said it had been a "rocky road".

He said meetings had been held between campaigners and councillors, and the authority had taken on board the comments made by protestors.

He said: "From a personal point of view it is very important that we support the district as a whole.

"Members will remember we want to make this as fair as possible.

"25 per cent will go into the pot.

"This will be reviewed next year, and people will have a say each year."

A final decision will be made at a meeting of the full council.

After the meeting Peter Rowbottom, lead petitioner, told the News the £87,000 figure was "totally unacceptable" as it equated to only seven per cent of the total amount.

He said: "Dozens of other councils throughout the country are passing on as much as 40 per cent.

"I would urge the voting public in Hagley to remember the appalling way that Bromsgrove Conservative councillors have ignored communities' wishes on this issue, and vote in independent councillors, at the forthcoming district council elections in May, who will do all they can if elected to increase significantly the amount of New Homes Bonus to be spent on Hagley community facilities and groups."

Councillor Luke Mallett, leader of the opposition Labour group, added: "After months of investigations, thousands of signatures on a petition, the Conservative administration has come forward with an offer of less than seven per cent of the total NHB money.

"This is a slap in the face for those communities in and around the district that are accepting the majority of development.

"It flies in the face of their own government’s intention."

Independent councillor Steve Colella, who said his difference of opinion on NHB was one of the reasons for quitting the Conservative group, said: “Along with many hundreds of Bromsgrove residents I was left bitterly disappointed with the conclusion by the Tory leadership that less than £90,000 will be allocated to community projects.

"That's less than £3 per household in terms of community 'benefit'.

“My group, the Independent Alliance Group, will be presenting an alternative budget which will look upon NHB more favourably, I can guarantee that.”