HALF a million pounds in government funding will be given to Aldershot and Farnborough, to support the increased Nepalese population in the two towns.

Confirmation of the funding came last week after a ‘constructive’ meeting between Rushmoor Borough Council and the government, in which a £1.5m grant, earmarked by the government to support Gurkha soldiers and their families, was discussed.

The meeting took place on Wednesday at the Houses of Parliament between council leader Peter Moyle, chief executive Andrew Lloyd, Eric Pickles, secretary of state for communities and local government and MP for Aldershot Gerald Howarth, who started the debate last year when he wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron about Aldershot’s services being ‘overwhelmed’ by Nepali immigrants.

Mr Moyle, who described the meeting as ‘constructive and helpful’, confirmed the funding would be made available to the council immediately, as the government recognised the ‘exceptional pressure’ caused by the Gurkha soldiers and their dependents arriving in the borough.

Some of the cash will be used to fund the customer advisor services at both the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) and the council offices for two more years, he said.

How the rest of the money will be spent will depend on discussions over the coming week, he added.

Councillor Keith Dibble, leader of the council’s Labour party, cautiously welcomed the funding. He said any contribution was a good start, but he described the sum as ‘a drop in the ocean’.

He said: “A few extra heads at the CAB will be welcome, but it is not going to resolve all the issues we face.

“That money does not really cover any more than the existing commitments we have.”

He said it was important the council’s new task and finish group, created in December to discuss cohesion in the borough, held its first meeting soon.

That group can then identify where the funding priorities lie, he said.

“There is a need for extra funding for everything, from health, to housing, to translators,” he said.

“We will not be able to get government handouts for everything, so we need to know where money is most needed. At the moment, no-one knows that.”

Mr Moyle will meet with other local authorities affected by Gurkha migration in February, to discuss how the remaining £1m should be allocated.

He said Mr Pickles indicated some of the money could be used to set up wider support networks – such as the services provided by the Gurkha Welfare Centre in Rushmoor – in other UK towns.

He said it might mean new migrants choose to settle elsewhere.

He said: “This is an idea I fully support, as I think it will help reduce the pressure that we have felt locally over the last couple of years.

“There may also be scope for further funding to be allocated to Rushmoor.”

Mr Howarth also said he warmly welcomed the grant, but said it was made clear that it was a one-off contribution from government.

He said the communities and local government department still needed to take account of the large Nepalese community when allocating funding each year to Rushmoor Borough Council.

He said: “There are also concerns throughout Rushmoor that there is no end in site to the wave of migration, so we hope other local authorities will be encouraged to support future migrants.”

The date of the first meeting of the cohesion task and finish group has not been set, but Mr Lloyd said it was planned to be held ‘shortly’.

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