Flitwick Town Council 'cancels' pensioners' Christmas party

Over-60s used to pay £8.50 each to tuck into an annual festive lunch at the Rufus Centre in Flitwick, Beds, every December.

But councillors have voted to scrap it this year – along with the old folks’ lunch club and tea dances – to save money.

The council says it continues to run events for older people – but added it’s current priority was to support people though the continuing cost-of-living crisis.

But residents reacted with anger and disappointment on social media.

Mike Clarry posted on a local Facebook page: “Once again, people in their twilight years are being kicked in the teeth.”

Steve Graves added: “Bah, Humbug. A Christmas Carol 2024.”

Colin Rumbelow commented: “First my heating allowance, now my Christmas dinner!”

Jean Bridge posted: “Once again, over-60s let down.Such a shame. This was somewhere people could go and meet and make connections with others. “

And Emily Brown said: “This is so sad. Not every elderly person has a family to spend Christmas with.”

Louise Kitchingham emailed Mayor John Roberts to ask him why the council had cancelled the Christmas treat.

He told her: “The event was assessed as having low community/social value.

“In 2023, the event required a taxpayer subsidy of almost £1,700, which was felt to be unsustainable, especially when approximately half of the people attending didn’t live in Flitwick.”

Following last year’s lunch, which was attended by 140 guests, the then Mayor, Cllr Andy Snape, said: “This was my fourth time attending.

“It was great to talk to many local residents. I’m pleased that the raffle raised a fantastic £575.”

Flitwick Town Council explained that as part of its drive to ensure “community value” it asked officers to review all community events. The review was then considered by its community services committee before recoomendations were made to the full council.

The council said the event had “low” community value as there are similar events run by other organisations.

It added that a lack of volunteers had made the party hard to run – and said last year it required a taxpayer subsity of almost £1,700 in addition to closing The Rufus Centre for the day resulting in significant loss of business and complaints from regular customers.

In a statement, the council said: “Flitwick Town Council (FTC) are a progressive and community-focused local council. We regularly try out new ideas and often collaborate with other community groups rather than the council trying to run everything itself.

"FTC continues to provide a range of services targeted at older people, including dance fitness, Forget-me-not, regular visits to local care homes and our Stitchers group in addition to hosting many community groups for free at The Rufus Centre every month. Our current priority is to support residents through the continuing cost-of-living crisis.

“We recognise that the needs of our community are changing over time and it's vital we continue to review our offer, ensuring best value, and most importantly providing residents support and community services where it matters most. Sometimes we must make difficult decisions to discontinue services or events in favour of alternatives.”