A Burntwood councillor at the centre of an investigation over public funds he failed to pay back has told Lichfield Live he intends to resign.
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd has come under fire after it emerged he had failed to return the full total of £924 he was given by Staffordshire County Council for a tree planting scheme that never went ahead.
Despite being given the cash last year, it emerged this week that only half of it had been returned so far – with the remainder expected to be handed back next month.
The Burntwood North representative has previously resigned from Burntwood Town Council and Hammerwich Parish Council but had clung on to his remunerated county council seat.
However, after being asked by Lichfield Live once more for a reason why the money had not been repaid, Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd finally broke his silence, confirming his intention to resign and revealing he had contacted the chairman of Staffordshire County Council to instigate the process.
The controversy unfolded after he was awarded a total of £924 for the project, with the first payment made as early as March 2021.
He was awarded the funding through the climate change initiative via former councillor Helen Fisher, who has since quit to become Deputy Staffordshire Commissioner. However, Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd’s Nature Nuturing Community Interest Company which applied for the funding was dissolved after failing to even submit the required confirmation statement within 12 months.
The county council eventually began an internal audit investigation after it became apparent that the funding had not been spent on trees – a move which has now led to the matter being referred to Staffordshire Police.
But mystery continues to surround the reasons why Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd could not return the funding in full when the issue was first flagged in November last year.
He has previously said he would provide answers to a series of questions regarding what had happened to the money given it has not been returned – promises that have so far, like the trees, failed to materialise.
Lichfield Live understands that the cash was paid directly to Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd rather than to his company, despite the organisation being listed as the applicant on the county council’s documentation relating to the fund.
The father of triplets has previously spoken of how a busy home life had contributed to the failure of the planting scheme to go ahead.
“The trees were intended to be planted on a path at Chasewater, which the rangers and the organisers of the country park were in agreement with. I had hoped this to be part of something much bigger.
“The trees were to maintained by a group of volunteers who sought to build an orchard and would be self-funding. This did not happen and is a major factor as to why the whole thing fell through.
“The reason for the delay was also because I was moving home straight after the election and the ranger who I was in contact with seemed to not have a nine to five daily working hours, which provided a huge problem during a time when we were leaving lockdown and getting our lives back to normal.”
Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd speaking in December 2021
