By Locals furious as Council spends £20k on ‘unnecessary’ brochure
Locals have responded with anger after North East Lincolnshire Council posted over 70,000 brochures to homes in the area.
The brochures from Discover North East Lincolnshire cost a grand total of£20,793, mostly funded through sponsorship from external partners such as the PCC and ‘specific services’.
The council said the £20,000 covered costs for the print and delivery of 75,000 copies – one for each household in the borough.
Many locals were confused as to why a brochure was sent to their homes as most of the council information is available online or on social media.
In response the council said that not everyone has online access and that not all council information is circulated widely enough for every household to see.
Cllr Philip Jackson, Leader of the Council said: “We’ve produced this brochure as we head into autumn and winter to get lots of really useful information into the hands of all our residents. Many people, particularly the elderly in our borough, don’t have access to the internet, and we want to make sure that our residents have the best information we can provide about a range of subjects.
“There’s information in there about health (mental and physical), pointers on where people can find help to ease the cost of living stress, information about community events and more.
“Additionally, there are lots of changes happening in our town centres that will provide lots of opportunities, economically and socially, for local people and businesses – and that’s something we want people to know about. There will be some significant projects on the ground in Grimsby starting in the coming months such as the changes to Riverhead Square as well as those heading into planning, like the Freshney Place development, and this is part of our programme of communications to let people know what’s happening.”
Some felt that the brochure was a waste of paper, especially when the council is committing to being more eco-friendly: “Does only me think this is a waste of our local money surely this could be spent on more urgent needs not the recycling?”
Another said: “Doom and gloom austerity from every direction and the council have the audacity to post this through every letterbox in the town.
“In the coming winter families and old people will be really struggling. They’re literally throwing our money away, I hope they remember that.”
Others pointed out that Grimsby was misspelt as ‘Grimbsy’ on the front page: “Hope they get money back for stupid spelling mistake what a bunch of idiots!”
