HASLEMERE councillors have this week called on Waverley Borough Council to justify the "vast" level of funding for Farnham Museum. A group of four Conservative borough councillors, including Dr Nicky Lee, who represents Haslemere East and Grayswood and councillor for Critchmere and Shottermill, Jim Edwards, asked the Environment and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee to examine a decision by the council's executive, to award a £25,000 grant from the Community Partnership Fund for the Museum of Farnham's garden classroom. At Monday night's committee meeting, Dr Lee said questioning the decision to award the grant was not an attempt to set towns against each other, but there was a need for a greater understanding of the reasons for the costs. She claimed figures from Waverley Borough Council's budget, for the last three years, show £682,316 has been spent on Farnham Museum, while spending on museums in Haslemere, Godalming and Tilford for the same period was only £33,660. At the meeting, Mr Knowles said: "I believe as a council it is our duty to examine payments authorised by this authority and in this case the much wider costs related to Farnham Museum. "In these times of limited resources, I submit that all payments of this type do require regular scrutiny and review. "Is it justifiable that 95 per cent of the Waverley payments, in respect of museums, are made to one museum whilst the remaining five per cent is to the other three? "There is a need to show council tax payers that such a vast payment is justified and that there is equality throughout the borough." The decision by the executive to grant £25,000 to the Museum of Farnham was upheld by the committee. This cash will be used to support the museum in its application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for money to refurbish the garden classroom, to provide a new educational facility and meeting venue for voluntary organisations. A Waverley spokesperson said: "The Museum of Farnham is owned and managed by Waverley Borough Council and is reliant on revenue funding from Waverley. "The Haslemere and Godalming museums are independent trusts which receive funding through various sources including endowments, legacies and trusts, which the Museum of Farnham does not benefit from. "It is unreasonable to compare the museums' financial requirements as they are funded in different ways." The Waverley representative went on to say the operational costs to Waverley, for running the Museum of Farnham, were £140,000 per year, and £50,000 a year for Godalming Museum, while Haslemere Museum receives a grant of £3,000. The museums also receive one-off capital contributions and are entitled to apply for grants through the Community Partnership Fund.
