Whitby Town Council borrowed £70,000 from art gallery reserves

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 17:33 · Archive

Whitby Town Council borrowed £70,000 from Pannett Art Gallery reserves during a cash flow crisis.

Whitby Town Council has acknowledged borrowing £70,000 from reserves linked to the Pannett Art Gallery after an independent investigation into its finances. The council ran out of cash and was forced to dip into the charity reserves to pay bills. The authority borrowed £30,000 from art gallery reserves in 2023 and a further £40,000 in 2024, with the money subsequently repaid.

The investigation found the council had 'physically run out of money to pay bills' by 2024. The borrowed funds came from a reserve maintained for the Pannett Art Gallery, which had been kept separate from the council's main current and savings accounts for several years.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, town councillors said they had commissioned the independent review to examine historic financial arrangements and governance shortcomings thoroughly. Mayor Sandra Turner said the council had not sought to 'brush these matters under the carpet'. The authority acknowledged shortcomings identified by the investigation, including weaknesses in financial management, oversight and budget monitoring. Councillors said they are determined to make 'meaningful and lasting improvements' following the review.

How it is being reported

• Council vows to learn from ‘historic mistakes’ after £70,000 borrowingWhitby Town Council has vowed to learn from “historic mistakes” after an investigation found the authority borrowed £70,000 from reserves linked to the Pannett Art Gallery during a cash flow crisis.The Press (York) · 15 Oct, 16:58
• Council vows to learn from ‘historic mistakes’ after £70,000 borrowingWhitby Town Council has vowed to learn from “historic mistakes” after an investigation found the authority borrowed £70,000 from reserves linked to the Pannett Art Gallery during a cash flow crisis.Gazette & Herald (Malton) · 15 Oct, 16:58

In this story: Whitby Town Council · Pannett Art Gallery · Whitby · Sandra Turner

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