OXFORD city councillors have failed to spend nearly half of £72,000 that was supposed to benefit their communities.

The 48 councillors only spent around £42,000 of the personal grant money they were given in the past 12 months.

That leaves around £30,000 of taxpayers’ money just sitting in the council’s coffers.

This comes after the the council slashed the cash available for discretionary spending by more than £100,000 in budget cuts.

A number of councillors spent absolutely nothing, including former Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin, who claimed she “didn’t have time to fill out the forms”.

Oxford City Council decided to scrap six local area committees last year, despite criticism from residents.

In 2010/11 those committees were able to allocate £174,947 in grant money to projects in their areas; Cowley, Central South and West, East, North, North East and South East.

Instead the council introduced a new scheme last May whereby just £72,000 was made available and that was divided between the city’s 48 councillors.

Each received £1,500 to spend how they saw fit. A year later the Oxford Mail has been provided with a list of how each one chose to spend the money.

Some councillors spent all or most of their sum for the good of their communities, contributing to everything from Christmas lights to grit bins.

Any money not spent by the end of the 2010/11 financial year will be carried over to 2012/13.

In total £41,506 was spent by mid May, which left £30,494 unspent.

Lib Dem councillor for Summertown Jean Fooks spent all of her budget on community projects. She said: “We advertised locally that we had this money to spend and we were given one or two suggestions but I made jolly sure I spent every penny.”

Lib Dem councillor for St Margaret’s Jim Campbell also spent all his budget, including £350 towards a grit bin in Polstead Road, but expressed some reservations about the scheme.

He said: “I preferred it when we spent the money as an area and discussed it at area committees so it wasn’t seen as an individual allocation.”

As of May 16, five councillors had not spent any of the £1,500, including Green Party councillor for Iffley Fields Elise Benjamin, Marston’s Labour member Mary Clarkson and Lib Dem representative for Holywell Mark Mills. The other two were councillors at the time but have since been replaced; St Mary’s Green councillor Matt Morton and North ward’s Lib Dem Clark Brundin.

Since then Mr Morton says his last-minute funding application was approved after he stood down, with the whole amount going to the Cowley Road Carnival organisers.

Mr Mills said he would be giving the whole amount of his budget to Oxford Poverty Action Trust (Oxpat) and his bid was being processed.

Ms Benjamin said she would spend the money this year.

Last night councillors Mr Brundin and Ms Clarkson were unavailable for comment.

  • Mohammed Abbasi, Cowley Marsh – £100 for Cowley newsletter
  • Mohammed Altaf-Khan, Headington Hill and Northway – £50 contribution to Headington Christmas lights
  • Alan Armitage, North – £350 contribution to grit bin for Waterways Estate
  • Antonia Bance, Rose Hill and Iffley – £700 including £400 for Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre and £300 for Rose Hill food4all event
  • Laurence Baxter, Quarry and Risinghurst – £1,150 including £1,100 contribution to Positive Futures youth activities and £50 contribution to Headington lights
  • Elise Benjamin, Iffley Fields - spent £0
  • Tony Brett, Carfax – £1,500 including £500 to Oxford Street Pastors, £500 to Oxford Crisis Centre and £500 to Homeless Pathways
  • Stephen Brown, Carfax – £1,500 including £500 to Oxford Gate House, £500 to Homeless Pathways and £500 to Crisis Skylight
  • Clark Brundin, North - spent £0 Jim Campbell, St Margaret’s – £1,500 including £300 to interpretation panel for wildlife corridor for Aristotle Lane Residents’ Association, £850 to a community room for Waterways Residents’ Association and £350 to a grit bin for Polstead Road Association
  • Mary Clarkson, Marston – spent £0
  • Colin Cook, Jericho and Osney – £212.70 for venue hire costs
  • Van Coulter, Barton and Sandhills – £987.50 including £50 to Headington Christmas lights and £937.50 for portable floodlights for Barton United and Headington Amateur sports clubs
  • Stuart Craft, Northfield Brook – £1,500 including £500 for Pathways Workshop project, £900 for Pegasus Olympic event and £100 on The Leys Community Booklet
  • Roy Darke, Headington Hill and Northway – £250 including £50 for Headington Christmas lights and £200 for an individual place at a boxing academy
  • Jean Fooks, Summertown – £1,500 including £108.50 for meetings venue hire, £500 for Summertown Christmas lights, £291.50 for Cutteslowe planning project, £200 for Cutteslowe Subway Project, £100 for transport fund for Cutteslowe seniors and £300 for Cutteslowe play scheme
  • John Goddard, Wolvercote – £1,500 for disadvantaged pupils at Wolvercote Primary School
  • Michael Gotch, Wolvercote – £1,450 including £350 for grey grit bin in Rawson Close, £450 for community woodland camera, £300 for staff at Wolvercote Young People’s Club and £350 for tools for community woodland
  • Beverley Hazell, Marston – £90 for meeting venue hire
  • Rae Humberstone, Blackbird Leys – £100 for The Leys Community Booklet
  • Graham Jones, St Clement’s – £1,500 to Seedcorn Funding pilot scheme social inclusion project
  • Bryan Keen, Cowley – £1,500 including £300 for decorating Florence Park Community Centre, £400 for a computer for Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre, £200 to Ark T cafe, £300 for Cowley newsletter and £300 to Community Food Bank
  • Shah Khan, Cowley – £250 including £100 to Ark T Centre Christmas event, £100 to Florence Park Community Centre Christmas event and £50 to Christmas lights at St James’ Church
  • Ben Lloyd-Shogbesan, Lye Valley – £36 for meeting venue hire
  • Mark Lygo, Churchill – £1,500 including £50 to Headington Christmas lights and £1,450 to community projects through Wood Farm Forum
  • Saj Malik, Cowley Marsh – £800 including £500 to Barracks Lane Community Gardens and £300 to Old Temple Cowley TRA
  • Stuart McCready, Summertown – £1,500 including £205 to Cutteslowe Community Fair, £500 for Summertown Christmas Lights, £92 for venue hire for meetings, £300 to Cutteslowe Community Association Play Scheme, £300 for Cutteslowe community-led plan and £103 for Cutteslowe mural painting at A40 underpass
  • Joe McManners, Churchill – spent £1,500 including £50 for Headington Christmas lights and £1,450 for community projects through Wood Farm Forum
  • Mark Mills, Holywell – £0 (has since spent £1,500 on Oxford Poverty Action Trust)
  • Matt Morton, St Mary’s - £0 (has since spent £1,500 on Cowley Road Carnival)
  • Susanna Pressel, Jericho and Osney – £1,400 including £150 for Binsey Village grit bin, £350 for Jericho and West Oxford grit bin, £250 to Oxford Canal fundraising, £250 to Jericho Street Fair, £300 for Messiah Project and £100 to Jazz Brunches West Oxford
  • Bob Price, Hinksey Park – £1,300 including £1,000 to South Oxford adventure playground and £300 to Lake Street playgroup
  • Nathan Pyle, Holywell – £1,500 for students to help charities such as Kids Enjoy Exercise Now
  • Mike Rowley, Barton and Sandhills – £1,437 including £500 to Oxford Sports and Martial Arts Club and £937.50 for floodlighting for Barton and Headington Amateurs
  • Gwynneth Royce, St Margaret’s – £100 for Christmas tree lights
  • David Rundle, Headington – £450 including £125 for Headington grit bin and £325 for five-a-side goal posts, sockets and installation for Bury Knowle Park
  • Gill Sanders, Littlemore – £1,500 including £1,000 to Littlemore Youth Club and £500 for improvements at Littlemore Community Centre
  • Scott Seamons, Northfield Brook – £100 for The Leys Community Booklet
  • Dee Sinclair, Quarry and Risinghurst – £1,150 including £50 for Headington Christmas Lights and £1,100 for Positive Futures youth activities
  • Val Smith, Blackbird Leys – £100 for The Leys Community Booklet
  • John Tanner, Littlemore – £1,500 including £1,000 for Littlemore Youth Club and £500 for improvements to Littlemore Community Centre
  • Bob Timbs, Lye Valley – £1,500 including £750 for Hollow Way memorial bench and £500 for improvements to Littlemore Community Centre
  • Ed Turner, Rose Hill and Iffley – £1,150 including £150 to Rose Hill Boys Football Club, £300 for Christmas Lights in Rose Hill and Iffley, £400 to Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre and £300 for Rose Hill food4all event
  • Oscar Van Nooijen, Hinksey Park – £1,500 for South Oxford adventure playground
  • Ruth Wilkinson, Headington – £525 including £50 for Headington Christmas lights, £125 for a Headington grit bin, £325 for five-a-side goal posts, sockets and installation equipment for Bury Knowle Park and £25 for basketball court paint at Sandfield Road
  • David Williams, Iffley Fields – £1,000 including £500 for Chinese Advice Centre, £250 for Cowley Road Carnival and £250 for Donnington Residents Association
  • Dick Wolff, St Mary’s – £750 for workshops on community building
  • Nuala Young, St Clement’s – £1,500 including £975 for Dawson Street garden and benches, £25 for spring place flower bulbs and £500 for Chinese Community Advice Centre