WHILE Colchester Council bosses will regret the New Homes Bonus grant is reduced, to the man in the street, £3.4 million is a sizeable amount of cash.

When you consider the council’s overall annual income is about £21 million, it is obvious that £3.4 million is no small fry.

But how should the money be spent?

Government guidelines do not place an onus on local authorities to ring-fence the money for specific causes.

Up until now, the money appears to have been spent on very worthy projects, notably £1 million of the £8.9 million Mercury Theatre overhaul and another £1 million has been allocated to the sporting side of the Northern Gateway scheme.

READ MORE: Mercury wins £4m funding for ambitious overhaul

These are projects that will, undoubtedly, benefit the town.

But are they tackling the real issues created by Colchester’s growing population?

The “man on the steet” would prefer the money, awarded to the council for allowing the population to grow, to be spent on health services, schools and roads.

Of course, it is the not a borough council’s responsibility to fund the NHS, pay for the transport network or fund education.

None of the blame for what those sectors are experiencing can be laid directly at the council’s door.

But some outside-the-box thinking could see the New Homes Bonus money spent on some of the above.

After all, these are the services being most affected by a significantly larger population.