U-turn over Diamond Jubilee party costs
The organisers of a Diamond Jubilee street party in Worcestershire are celebrating after a council U-turn saved them more than £1,000.
Redditch Borough Council charges £75 for street closures but Feckenham Road residents were unhappy with additional insurance and diversions costs.
The authority has now agreed to cover all the expenses for the Redditch event by using community grant funding.
Some 150 people are expected to attend the party on 4 June.
Gabby Thompson, from Feckenham Road, said families were each contributing £10 towards food and entertainment in the hope that any money left over could be given to charity.
Ms Thompson said: "The council said they needed further funds from us to put a diversion route in place because we're a through road.
"It was going to cost us over £1,000 to put a diversion route in place using a traffic management company.
"As residents we just don't have those kinds of funds."
The authority's deputy chief executive and executive director for community services, Sue Hanley, said it always charged a nominal fee to close roads.
Ms Hanley said: "Given the the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the community parties we made a decision that we would fund these through our grant process.
"We're delighted that Feckenham Road has joined the Abbeyside Friends, Astwood Bank Carnival Association, Golden Age Club, the British Asian Women's Group and other Redditch groups that are putting our community grant funding to good use."