A CHILDREN’S home has been forced to delay major improvement works because it hasn’t received money that it was promised.

When Councillor Peter Evans was named the town’s first citizen in May 2007, he decided the Rochdale Children’s Moorland Home would be the main beneficiary of his Mayor’s Charity.

More than eight months after Councillor Evans finished his term as mayor, the home still hasn’t received a penny of the £30,000 raised.

Councillor Evans described the situation as ‘acutely embarrassing’.

A Rochdale Council spokesman said the last of the donations for the home were collected in November and that the money would be released later this month.

But that means the home, on the moors above Whitworth, which provides short holidays for deprived children and receives no government funding, has had to postpone the installation of a new central heating system until next winter.

Councillor Evans added: "I am very disappointed that no official has bothered to speak to me and explain the cause for the delay.  But my major concern is the home. It is an extremely valuable resource.  If we do not look after the needs of deprived children we are creating a big problem for ourselves."

Beryl Varley, the chairwoman of the home’s committee, said: "It just seems like a silly situation. We are being kept in the dark about the whole thing. We were hoping to get the work done this winter, but now it is out of our hands. We will just have to wait and see."

A council spokesman said about £8,500 was still outstanding by November, but that money had now been collected.

He added: "Funds from the mayor’s charity will be released shortly. We received the final donations in mid-November and have since been finalising the account. A cheque will be presented to the home, via Councillor Peter Evans, later this month."