Penrith Town Council will hold its first meeting of 2026 on Monday evening, with councillors set once again to move part of the meeting into private session, excluding both the press and the public.
One of the items listed for the private meeting is the £5,000 grant awarded by the town council to Eden Arts for the cancelled Winter Droving event.
The town council paid the £5,000 grant allocated from the council's public funds paid by Penrith households from the annual council tax precept on the 9th October, but on the 24th October Eden Arts announced that the Winter Droving would not go ahead due to safety concerns over wind.
The item appears on the agenda as item 14. Winter Droving Grant with councillors asked to Consider a report withheld from public and recommendations contained within the report regarding the £5,000 gran.
Penrith.town News first reported on the grant having been awarded for the cancelled event in November.
The town council has stated that the item will be discussed in private because:
“The matter is considered exempt information as it includes the content and terms of a Service Level Agreement and sensitive financial information including that of external sources.”
No further detail has been released publicly about the report, the recommendations, or what will be considered during the private session of the town council on Monday evening.
Members of the public and press will be required to leave the meeting while the item is discussed. Any decision or outcome regarding the £5,000 grant will only become known if it is recorded in the council’s minutes following the meeting on Monday evening.
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