Council facing loses of £3.4m due to virus
THE borough council faces losses of up to £3.4 million due to the coronavirus crisis.
The worst-case figure comes in a report into the response of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council to the Covid-19 outbreak.
However, the authority has said that if further funding comes from central Government for leisure costs and lost income, losses could be between £1 million and £1.5 million.
The council has projected losses of £935,000 in income from Hinckley Leisure Centre during the lockdown, with extra costs of £565,000 for the facility.
Further expected income losses include £200,000 in fees from council-run car parks and £130,000 in garden waste services, as the collections were out of action for more than a month.
The report said the impact of Covid-19 on the council’s finances has been “significant and wide ranging”.
Councillor Stuart Bray, leader of the council, said: “These are worse case forecasts and we have lobbied via our MP, Local Government Association and the District Council Network, for Government support, as similar pressures are being felt by all councils nationally.
“We await further Government announcements on support.
“We have received three tranches of funding so far and are pushing for more.
“At the start of the outbreak, the Secretary of State said in call to council leaders we should spend what is necessary and councils wouldn’t be out of pocket.
“I will be challenging him to keep to his word.”
The leisure centre closed on March 20 and is set to reopen on Monday August 3, in a phased return, with only prebooked visits and card transactions accepted.
Waste services were put under huge pressure during the lockdown, with a 35 per cent reduction in staff availability while recycling tonnage increased by 30 per cent at its peak.
The amount of waste being processed is still 24 per cent higher than average, which is similar to the levels around Christmas time.
At the start of lockdown, 40 per cent of bin workers were at home self-isolating.
In the two weeks after garden waste resumed, three times the normal tonnage was collected.
The council also faces £100,000 in lost income from the soon-to-bebuilt crematorium, which was meant to be up and running by February 2021, but this has now been pushed back to August 2021. A separate council report said the council may have to pay an extra £3.4 million to build the crematorium.
Fly-tipping in the borough increased by 55 per cent at its worst and rates of incidents are still much higher than normal, but they have reduced since the tips reopened across the county.
The number of planning applications received by the council from March to May was 261, down from 332 for the same period last year.
There was a 21 per cent drop mainly during April and the beginning of May. However, there has been an increase in the requests for preapplication advice in the last few weeks.
Many crimes, such as burglary and violent crime, have greatly reduced, although there has been almost double the number of reports of anti-social behaviour compared to last year, due to infringements of the lockdown.
A community safety partnership action plan was set up to deal with Covid-related growing problems, such as domestic abuse, scams and secondary fires.
There has been a spate of reported scams across the county, including two incidents in Hinckley.
The two cases in the town related to someone offering to buy essentials for vulnerable adults and overcharging on products such as hand sanitiser.
The report into the council’s response to coronavirus also said: “There has been a significant uplift in the number of people undertaking moderate levels of physical activity.
“This included walking and cycling.
“The service area will need to maximise these opportunities with the aim to modify behaviour patterns, leading to positive health outcomes.”
A resident support scheme has been set up to ensure those who were vulnerable or shielding have the support and provisions they needed.
We have received three tranches of funding so far and are pushing for more
Council leader Stuart Bray