Swingeing budget cuts to Havering Community Area Forums which will hit future road projects in Harold have been slammed by a Conservative councillor.

Cllr Paul Rochford, says Havering Council's decision to almost halve the annual traffic management scheme budgets available to Harold Wood and Harold Hill community area forums by almost half from £50,000 to £27,000 is "derisory".

He also raised concerns that the schemes, to make roads safer and congestion free, are taking a back seat to Havering Council's advertising costs for executive recruitment which rocketed to £400,000 during1998/99.

The reduced budgets mean, depending on the size of the project, forums may only be able to rubber stamp one or two schemes instead of three or four per year.

A similar scheme to the £22,000 pelican crossing to be built in Squirrels Heath Road, Harold Wood would therefore take up almost a year's budget.

But the chairman of Harold Hill's forum, Cllr David Hill, defended the cuts and said forums would have to be more thrifty and choose only schemes with real public safety benefits.

He said: "People will always want more money but last year a lot of people had "pet" traffic projects selected.

"Now we must look at schemes more critically emphasising those addressing safety."

He was backed by deputy mayor, Cllr Brian Eagling, who represents Harold Wood, who defended Havering's spending on recruitment.

He said: "To attract top calibre people to run council services you need to advertise in national newspapers hence the recruitment bill. This is the world of business."

But Cllr Rochford hit back saying: "I feel in Havering we are living in an Alice in Wonderland situation.

"New Labour creates community area forums only to starve them of money.

"It employs new community area managers for its forums whilst drastically reducing the forum's finance.

The news of the cutbacks also came as a disappointment to Harold Wood and Nelmes forum chairman Cllr Peter Gardner who fought for more funds after deeming the £50,000 budget inadequate. He said: "Calling it a budget is a nonsense - it's peanuts, and it will be horrendous for my forum next year."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.