Lisburn and Castlereagh Council has agreed to spend £50,000 marking the coronation of King Charles but insists the funding reflects the “restraint” shown by the monarch himself.
The local authority, home to Charles’ royal residence in Hillsborough, had up to £84,000 available for the occasion but decided the £34,000 balance be used to tackle cost of living issues in the area.
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council’s (LCCC) leisure and development committee agreed to downsize the earmarked £84,000 budget for the monarch’s celebrations. The LCCC committee heard on Tuesday that the coronation money has been set aside from a council “underspend from Royal Hillsborough”.
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The original motion for a King’s coronation working group to set aside finances was brought forward by DUP Castlereagh East councillor Sharon Skillen who stated: “This will not be the same as Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in terms of spend.
“It is only right that we begin plans for King Charles III coronation, as we don’t know what way things will be come next May and we will be considering the cost of living crisis.”
The budget to fund street parties as well as official council celebrations was debated in chambers on Tuesday night (Dec 7).
Alliance Deputy Mayor, Michelle Guy said: “This is an historic community driven event, much the same as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The budget should reflect the restraint that the King is making for his own coronation celebrations in light of the cost of living crisis.
“Instead of using the full £84,000 underspend, it is proposed a budget of £50,000 and the balance of £34,000 be used for the community facing cost of living pressures. This will be in keeping with the King’s own restraint.
“We did not just pull these figures out of the sky. We have seen previous applications for community funding oversubscribed this year.”
The June budget for the Queen’s Jubilee sky-rocketed beyond early estimates leaving some potential doubt regarding funding for the King’s coronation.
UUP Castlereagh East councillor Hazel Legge said: “We did see for the Queen’s Jubilee an initial budget of £25,000 agreed and due to community demands for celebrations the spending went up to £46,000 in total.
“I am completely in support of the proposal (lowering the budget) for the King’s coronation. It is only right that we be seen doing the same as the King.”
There was some dispute over the coronation proposal with pending concerns over council rates rising next year in LCCC.
Castlereagh South Sinn Féin councillor Ryan Carlin said: “I do not support this due to the cost of living crisis. The Queen’s jubilee budget came out as £25,000. I think that this should be awarded the same. The £50,000 is extravagant in my opinion and £84,000 is absolutely astronomical.
“Coming next year there is likely to be a substantial rise in rates. I’d rather see these funds reallocated for cost of living crisis back in to the community.”
However, the proposed funding for the King’s celebrations was seen by the vice-chair of governance and audit committee as a small amount to spend within the UK as a whole.
Lisburn South Ulster Unionist councillor Jenny Palmer said: “For the celebrations for the Queen’s jubilee, each group applying for funds received £500 each. I don’t know where you are coming from Ryan.
“This is not a lot of money for LCCC to celebrate a significant occasion for Northern Ireland as part of the UK.”
The coronation funding was voted through on a majority of 12 to one with one abstaining.
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