CLEETHORPES ORGANISATION THAT HOSTED PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT IS DISSOLVED

                                                    

 The Knoll - disappointingly there was no poppy display, this year, at the front of the building in the run-up to Remembrance Day

THE curtain has come down on the organisation that, four years ago, ran the phenomenally successful national Armed Forces celebration event in  Cleethorpes

One of the guests on that famous day was the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, shortly before he stepped down from office.

But it has emerged that the Joint Services Major Events Team, North East Lincolnshire, Ltd was formally dissolved - by voluntary strike-off - on September 29 this year.

Over the past three years, its activities - and presumably its funds - have been transferred to  a differently-structured organisation, AFMET North East Lincolnshire.

This is a community interest company, which is carrying on business as usual from the same accommodation - The Knoll on Cleethorpes.

This prestigious seafront property is occupied thanks to advantageous terms from North East Lincolnshire Council from which AFMET also receives an annual grant - this year it was £25,000 - to supplement its income from other sources.

The successor company retains the same captain of the ship - former borough mayor Alex Baxter.

Mr Baxter's fellow-directors include Chris Shaw, a former leader of NELC, though it is understood he no longer lives in the borough.

The Grimsby News says: Sadly, Covid has caused a blip in 2020's programme events, but, over previous years, Mr Baxter and his team have done well in keeping the importance of our Armed Forces in the public eye. However  it is regrettable that they have not so far seen fit to invest in a website to promote the highly praiseworthy activities of AFMET. Such an initiative would doubtless be welcomed not just by servicemen and servicewomen, past and present, but also by the wider populace. What is more a website would provide the opportunity for publication of AFMET's annual accounts. How much funding is received? From what sources? How is the money spent? That sort of stuff. After all, where council taxpayers' funds are is involved, financial transparency is not an option - it is an imperative.