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Crawley
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MAYOR’S BALL SPENT
£1, ON FLOWERSFundraiser questions why cash was not given straight to charities
Goal gesture
CRAWLEY Town star Sergio Torres
dedicated his goal at the weekend
to a special young fan, who is
battling leukaemia.
Page 3
Shanty town
A HORSHAM councillor has
infuriated Crawley politicians by
comparing part of our borough to
a shanty town.
Page 5
Triplets joy
LEIGHANNE Cox had a Mother’s
Day to remember – as she spent it
with her newborn triplets, who were
11 weeks premature.
Page 6
Top stories
ing window dressing for a ball.”
Town mayor Carol Eade said
she had “no idea how much the
flowers cost”.
She added: “A budget is set for
the ball and the money would
have come out of that.”
The event has been affected by
the economic downturn.
In 2007, the ball raised £7,000,
but by 2009 the total had dropped
to £4,000.
The £2,500 raised this year will
go towards equipment for treating
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cancer patients at Crawley Hos-
pital and for helping people with
poor eyesight.
Defending the outlay on
flowers, the council spokesman
said: “The Civic Ball is the grand-
est mayoral event in the muni-
cipal year and we decorate the
venue accordingly.
“The ball is an acknowledg-
ment of thanks for volunteers
while mayors from other towns
attend, providing a great chance
to show off Crawley.”
Exclusive
Dave Comeau
dave.comeau@essnmedia.co.uk
THE council splashed out more
than £1,000 of taxpayers’ money
on flowers for the mayor’s annual
fundraising ball.
Lavish floral arrangements
were put around The Hawth,
where the Civic Ball was held.
The event allows much-needed
money to be raised for two char-
ities, but questions have been
asked as to why £1,060 was spent
on flowers to decorate the theatre
it was held in.
Huge sum
The huge sum bought orange
gerberas – a type of large daisy –
and artificial plants, sprayed gold,
silver and bronze to match the
colours of Olympic medals.
This year’s ball on January 21
was raising money for 4Sight for
the Blind and Crawley Hospital
League of Friends.
But it raised only £2,500.
It seems likely that more than
this would have been spent on the
ball in total, given how much was
spent on flowers.
However, the council has not
had all the bills through yet to
work out how much it all cost.
A spokesman said that the
event wasn’t just about raising
money, but also to thank charity
volunteers.
Maria Hains, a fundraiser with
the Crawley Hospital League of
Friends, believes the £1,060 could
have been much better spent.
She said: “It would be better for
the patients if the money was spent
on equipment for the hospital,
rather than flowers for the ball.
“The flowers money could have
paid for another fundraiser.”
Robert Oxley, from the TaxPay-
ers’ Alliance, agreed, saying:
“Spending £1,000 on floral
arrangements, even for a charity
event, is tough to justify when a
council has to save money.
“Surely this worthwhile event
could have gone ahead without
spending so much on the flowers.
Window dressing
“This money could have sup-
ported good causes in a much
more productive way than provid-
FUNDRAISER: Maria Hains
thinks the cash should have been
spent on another charity eventLAVISH: The scene of the Civic Ball and, inset, mayor Carol Eade, who says she had no idea of the costs
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