A DECISION to charge charities for the time they spend in Burnham has been reversed by Burnham Town Council.

In July, the Standard revealed that the council decided to charge the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) charity and the Dengie Enterprise Support (DES) service for rent at Station House, in Station Road.

The council said that the Station House budget was offset by income gathered from rent, and therefore a charge would have to be paid.

However, at a council meeting last Thursday, councillors expressed their discomfort, admitting they had made the wrong decision.

Councillor Peter Elliot said: “We should look at how we are running Station House. It is a community project. We knew it was going to lose money.

“We need to rethink this, because somewhere along the road we have got this badly wrong. The idea that we should even consider charging them is fundamentally flawed.

“I think we say to both: ‘Thank you very much for the time you are giving to the town’. The least we can do is let them use our facilities.”

The CAB in Burnham is one of three in the district providing free confidential and independent advice to help residents on a range of topics, including; debt, benefits and housing.

Others questioned whether it was wise to grant the groups use of Station House free of charge for fear of the precedent it sets.

Councillor Ron Pratt said: “I would say we still invoice them for the full rent, but with the other hand we offer a donation of the same amount. Then, if we run out of money or their circumstances change we haven’t said that they can use it for free.”

A vote was taken, and unanimously passed, to allow the two groups free use of Station House.