The-then Conservative-run Derbyshire County Council decided to cut £1.1m from the voluntary sector at a cabinet meeting in November 2024, taking effect the following March.
Natalie Hoy, who was the authority’s cabinet member for adult care at the time, said the council faced strong financial pressures and needed to focus on services it was legally required to provide – which did not include funding charities.
This led to EVA’s main service – acting as a volunteer support centre – losing £107,000 annually, which Bromley said represented half of its funding.
He said if the service was forced to close, it would have a knock-on impact on many of the groups EVA supports, with some unable to continue without the charity.
“We support groups of all sizes in different ways, but I think the smaller ones that are led primarily by volunteers are the ones that rely on us heavily to support them with day-to-day admin support or that bigger governance side,” Bromley said.
“I think there’s no other organisations in Erewash that deliver [that kind of support].
“So I think we would have seen a lot of groups drop out.”
