Reader's Letter: How our Council Tax is Spent

Dear Editor,

I have just read on COG news website that the council has given a donation to the Guild Hall for furniture and repairs - I must ask why they have given our council tax money to a Catholic Church owned business. Do they intend to recoup this money to be put back into the town which is surely the purpose of council tax revenue?

A Concerned Resident

Name & Address Supplied

We asked the town council and they told us:

"The Guildhall is not funded externally, and it’s Management Committee rely solely on hire fee’s and a small amount of grant income. Under Section 137 of the Local Government Act, Cheadle Town Council has the power to consider and authorise Grants on application. The application submitted by the Guildhall Management Committee was for a Miscellaneous Grant, for which the Council can authorise up to £200. In its application, the Guildhall Management Committee identified the many community groups that use the facility, and following review by our Finance & Resources Committee, a Grant of £150 was subsequently approved by Full Council, specifically toward its maintenance and upkeep of internal furnishings as requested. Our Grants Policy can be found on the Town Council website, and explains this in more detail.” Dave Mullington Town Clerk

https://cheadletowncouncil.org.uk/grants/

According to St Giles website: "The local Catholic priest, John Joseph MacDonald (‘Fr Mac’), bought the hall for the town and it has remained the property of the Catholic church ever since (Archdiocese of Birmingham - Regd Charity No 234216). The Church now runs the Guild Hall as a service to the community of Cheadle.

According to the Charities Commission website:

According to Section 137 of the Local government act councils can only give grants where the expenditure directly benefits the area/residents, and the amount is limited annually per elector.

Does maintenance and upkeep of internal furnishings directly benefit the area/residents? Should the town council be giving council tax to a charity who reported an income of over £24,000,000? Has this happened before?

We'd like to thank our reader for sending in this great question and Mr Mullington for his prompt reply.

Reader's Letter: How Is Our Council Tax Spent - created 29th March 2026