A COUNCIL has rejected an appeal to spend part of a multi-million pound windfall on saving village halls in the Darlington area.

Darlington Borough Council was awarded £2.2m in arbitration after a six-year legal wrangle with Durham County Council over Darlington's share of a local development fund. Although the council has set aside some of the money for improving Darlington's parks, cemeteries and streets, it has rejected appeals to reinstate village hall grants which were scrapped earlier this month.

Councillor Doris Jones, of Middleton St George, near Darlington, wrote to the council asking if some of the money could be redirected to village halls, many of which could close now the grants have been stopped.

Coun Jones said: "I understand that the total amount of the funding which was withdrawn was less than £25,000, or about one per cent of the massive windfall from Durham County Council. There is a case to reinstate this funding in order to keep these vital rural facilities available to the residents.

"It seems such a small amount which will benefit so many people of all ages."

But a council spokesman said £340,000 of the money from the arbitration would be spent on issues that had received the most complaints from the public.

These identified citizens' priorities include improvements to the town's parks and cemeteries and tidying up some of the most neglected streets.

The spokesman said: "The priorities are the things that the majority of people in the town care about and want improving, but they don't include village halls."

The loss of its grant almost caused Middleton St George Village Hall to close, until a residents' group joined with parish councillors and devised a rescue package, including fundraising.