A LATE payment to Dorchester Town Football Club by West Dorset District Council may have led some people to “call the council into question,” claimed Cllr Simon Christopher at the authority’s audit committee.

He said there had been publicity about the late payment and the difficulties the late payment had caused – leading to Dorchester Town Council stepping in to help bridge the gap with a £30,000 payment.

“I am always concerned when it might be perceived that the council is being called into question..

“The statistics about our payment standards are all well and good in percentage terms but it isn’t to say that small amounts aren’t important. When it is a large amount it might be seen as somewhat disappointing.”

He asked for councillors to be told the reason why the payment was late.

Strategic Director Jason Vaughan said the payment was late by a day and he did not know the reasons why that had happened.

“It did cause the football club problems and was have apologised but overall our payment standards are good, but there will always be one or two where we don’t hit the deadlines, for whatever reasons.”

A response explaining the reasons for the delay will be emailed only to councillors.

The payment was due out of a fund administered by West Dorset District Council, made up of Section 106 payments from developers in the area and used to finance community facilities.

Dorchester councillor Susie Hosford, who chairs the panel which decides on the recipients on the fund said last week that she was left “embarrassed and angry” by the late payment.