RISING costs brought by the coronavirus pandemic have seen Stockton Council chiefs back a move to use up to £6m in reserves. 

But sparks have continued to fly over the rising cost of the troubled Globe Theatre project. 

The council has spent £17m more than it normally would dealing with pressures from the Covid crisis.

Its leaders have agreed up to £6m will be needed to plug the hole ahead of a final decision on changes at a full council meeting next week.

Council papers show £4m has been lost in income to the authority – with much less money coming in from rents, licensing and planning.

The stark breakdown of costs also show a £4m adult social care bill, £3.5m costs for children in care, and an extra £1m to continue weekly bin collections during the lockdown.

Garry Cummings, the council’s director of finance, said different ways of collecting waste and ”higher tonnages” had contributed to increased costs.

The committee was told a temporary ten per cent increase in care home fees has also added to the burden, as well as efforts to make savings by bringing children back in the borough to live with foster carers and family being hit.

And the closure of Tees Active centres has meant an additional £2m bill.

Mr Cummings said the costs were estimates at the moment – and would change as the pandemic wears on. 

He explained there would be savings from some events being cancelled, but added there were rising costs in adult social care which “hadn’t been factored in yet” as well as rising numbers of referrals. 

“I’m sure there’ll be further ups and downs we’ll need to consider,” the finance chief added.

The cabinet was told £11m was received from the Government creating a net shortfall of slightly less than £6m – meaning the use of “up to £6m” of reserves which would need to be replenished next year. 

However, on Wednesday afternoon, it was confirmed Stockton had received an extra £1.7m from an extra £500m package unveiled by the Government – taking the deficit down to about £4.3m. 

Mr Cummings added there was also a Government support scheme to look at dealing with some of the £4m the authority had lost in income. 

“As we sit here now, I don’t know when we’ll have that further information and I don’t know how much that is,” he said.

“But it’s important we take this through to council so there is a full recognition of where we are.”

The finance chief also pointed to pressure on council tax collection rates and loss of business rates.

Lower growth in the number of new homes is also expected to hit the authority’s coffers. 

Mr Cummings added: “We still don’t know what our funding allocation from the Government will be next year – there is clearly going to be spending reviews and we await the outcome of those. 

“The overall position is not great news financially – but we do have the balances there to help us through the situation.

“We will need to look at replenishing those next year.”

Council leader Cllr Bob Cook said it had been a difficult time for every council with lost income, inability to make savings, and extra costs in social care.

“We’ve worked hard to mitigate that but this is something I’ve never seen in my lifetime,” he added.

“Even when we were doing the three-day-week in the 1970s because of power cuts, I’ve still never seen the economy or councils have to close down so many services for this length of time.

“The local economy has suffered as have council finances. 

“We were told at the end of March and the beginning of April to spend what you need to to keep people safe and we’ll replenish you.”

Delays to the Globe Theatre have also added to £1.2m to its cost and pushed back its reopening to April 2021 due to fewer workers being on site due to social distancing. 

The Labour leader said the Government had gone some way to replenishing funds – and believed money from the Heritage Lottery Fund may be able to be used to pay for the rising costs of The Globe. 

But barbs flew once again over the £28m price tag of the troubled high street theatre project.

Conservative Cllr Lynn Hall believed the authority needed to “get a grip” pointing to the difference in costs between the Darlington Hippodrome and the Globe. 

“Weak management causes such errors and costs us money,” she added.

“In the £1.2m extra requested for the Globe, there is an additional £200,000 contingency.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to use it – I think we’ve spent enough on the Globe.”

Cllr Hall also referred to the “unprecedented” funding the Government had given to the council.

But Cllr Steve Nelson, cabinet member for community safety, slammed Cllr Hall’s criticisms – saying some of the money had been “spent disgracefully” by the government during the crisis – with “billions of pounds” in contracts given to “friends and supporters”.

He added: “Talking of key capital works – you only have to look at the shambles which is the repairing of Parliament. 

“We’ll take no lessons from you on financial rectitude.”

Cllr Jim Beall labelled Cllr Hall’s intervention a “diatribe” – accusing her of chasing cheap headlines and criticising a project the “vast majority of people” in the borough wanted to see completed.

“Anyone with a modicum of sense would realise the impact of covid on any capital project – whether in the public or private sector,” he added. 

Ahead of the meeting, Conservative group leader Cllr Tony Riordan accused the council of “blaming everything” on the pandemic tragedy when it came to its funding troubles. 

He added: “The Globe saga continues unabated – the promised and repeated deadlines for opening have been put back with ever spiralling costs.”

But Cllr Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for regeneration and housing, said the delays to the Globe were a “Covid story” – claiming opponents were “going over old ground” which had been “put to bed”. 

“This is still a great project,” he added

“The restoration of this wonderful Grade II Art Deco theatre of local and national importance has not just been about that building – it’s part of a wider town centre plan.

“We’ve got friends in Government who are making encouraging noises about that.”

The council will vote on using £6m of its reserves on Wednesday.