ONE of the smallest savings the council has proposed is removing the £10,000 funding pot for grants relating to twinning activities with the Dutch town Arnhem.
The link was set up after the Second World War and formalised in 1984 when the two towns were twinned.
Every year, the Mayor of Croydon visits Arnhem to pay their respects to soldiers who fell in the war.
Nuala O'Neil, a former Croydon councillor, volunteers in student exchange projects between the towns.
She told the Advertiser: "There are all sorts of things that go on between the two towns and keeping that link is really important.
"I've never heard of this funding pot for grants but would urge Mike Fisher to publicise it better rather than remove it."
A council spokesman insisted the removal of the funding would not jeopardise Croydon's relationship with its twin town.
"As the Arnhem budget is underused we are proposing to remove it," he said.
"This will have no impact on the twinning relationship with Arnhem, as community groups now take the lead on organising events, rather than the council."
Last year, only £2,000 was applied for out of the £10,000 pot.
One of these grants was for 15 Croydon police officers who have cycled 200 miles from the town hall to Arnhem every September for the past six years to mark the anniversary of Operation Market Garden – the mission that inspired the film A Bridge Too Far.
They meet local police and, along with the two towns' mayors, attend a wreath-laying ceremony on the John Frost Bridge to remember all those involved in the disastrous Second War operation.
Sgt George Shannon, who set up the ride with a colleague, said they were making next year – the operation's 70th anniversary – their biggest ever.
However, they will have to do without the council's £1,000 grant.
