‘It’s not a budget, it’s a transformation’

Council leader Ben Fitter-harding

The enormity of the challenge facing our district council was made crystal clear last week when accountancy giant Grant Thornton placed Canterbury fifth out of all councils on its Covid-19 economic vulnerability list. Typically a council bolstered by generous income streams from parking and property, it has found those income streams have evaporated overnight.

Our low rate of council tax barely covers much more than bin collections, and the council must now dig deep into its many years of carefully setaside reserves as it battles to fund frontline services amid the global pandemic.

This is a council that has in past years rebuilt an iconic theatre and beautiful museum, and invested heavily across a district that is always striving for better for its residents and businesses, and to attract the many visitors that come to enjoy the historic city and stunning coastline, parting with their hard-earned cash here as they do.

More recently the council has gone even further, working to reduce the subsidy on community assets like The Beaney and The Kings Hall by running events and even cafés, hoping to bank that income, much as the private sector would, and use it to help cover the huge costs that running some of these assets can amass.

But councils don’t run like private businesses. Costs are higher, and there’s a conflict between making profit and providing a public service. As such, it stands to reason that some of these endeavours must now come to an end, so council officers can focus instead on providing those services that we all depend

‘We will take the pain of this moment in time, because it is the council’s job to protect its residents, not add to their worries’

Car parking fees are proposed to increase upon. This marks a moment in time where our council is not just changing, but transforming. Hounded by calls from local Labour councillors to seek to dramatically increase council tax to support the status quo - placing a heavy burden on residents whose finances are already stretched by Covid

- I and my Conservative colleagues are instead charting a bold new course. We will take the pain of this moment in time, because it is the council’s job to protect its residents, not add to their worries.

With ‘talking shop’ meetings culled and planning committee call-ins reformed, we have taken rapid action to protect the very core of our democracy. Over a million pounds will be cut from the council’s basic running costs alone, meaning a smaller and more efficient council is on the way.

Where the council is having to raise prices, fairness and supporting the economic recovery is our first thought. There is no better example of this than car parking, where rises will, for the first time and thanks to our award-winning ANPR technology, focus on the busiest car parks in the district. In Canterbury, 40% of spaces will actually reduce in price as a result, meaning that residents and visitors won’t be priced out. Moreover, discount schemes will be made available directly to high street businesses.

It’s a worrying time for all of us right now. We worry for our children, our parents, our neighbours. for each other. But just as hopes of a vaccine lift our spirits and help us see a brighter future, we also acknowledge that, in 2020, some things have changed for good.

One of those things will be our council, focused on leveraging technology to provide excellent council services, including bin collections, housing and enforcement, at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer.