Cuts and hikes proposed in council’s draft budget

Council tax increase and closure of public toilets will be considered

A RISE in council tax and cuts in community grants are among the measures proposed as Charnwood Borough Council seeks to save £1.5 million in the next financial year.

The draft budget for 2021/22 will be considered by the council’s cabinet tomorrow.

Residents can have a say on the budget before it is considered by the full council in February.

The overall draft budget for 2021/22 is £19 million. This includes £1.5 million of proposed savings and generating income of about £600,000, largely through investments in commercial properties. It is proposed to increase Charnwood’s council tax by £5 on an average Band D property per year.

Income from council tax, business rates and Government grants is expected to be about £17.6 million, leaving a gap of £1.4 million which the council will use reserves to cover.

The impact of the pandemic on areas including car parks, leisure centres and Loughborough Town Hall is still expected to be felt in 2021/22, accounting for an expected £900,000 of lost income.

The draft 2021/22 budget proposals include the following:

■ Reducing community grants to £50,000, saving £54,000. These are grants organisations bid for and not core funding.

■ Closing the public toilets in Biggin Street, Loughborough, while retaining the nearby Market Place toilets, to save £20,000.

■ “Standardising” the opening hours at Charnwood Museum to save £2,000.

■ Changing the Mayor’s leased vehicle to electric which would contribute to the council’s carbon reduction target and save £2,000 a year on fuel.

■Increasing the garden waste service charge by £1 to £41 if paid by direct debit from April 2021. It would be the first increase since 2018.

More details of the draft budget are contained on the council website.

Cllr Tom Barkley, lead member for finance, said: “This has clearly been a very difficult year for residents and businesses in Charnwood.

“Our priority has always been to support our residents and businesses throughout the pandemic and that’s what we will continue to do.

“We have started our planning for the next financial year, and it is clear Covid-19 has made an already challenging financial situation worse.

“We have made bold steps to generate more income through commercial investment this year and that will help protect services by replacing some of the reductions in government funding seen to date.

“The council is also embracing new technology to make our services more effective and effi

It is clear we need to make savings and we will still need to use some reserves to ensure critical services continue to operate Cllr Tom Barkley

cient, such as by making more services available online and self-service, helping to reduce costs and improve customer experience.

“However, the pandemic has increased our costs and reduced our income this year. For example, we have had to provide an additional £500,000 to ensure our leisure centres remain open until April 2021. The impact of Covid-19 will still be felt in our finances next year.

“It is clear we need to make some savings and we will still need to use some reserves to plug a gap to ensure critical services continue to operate.

“Using reserves is not a longterm solution and we will continue to look for ways to make our services more efficient and to generate income.

“We await the Local Government financial settlement this month and may need to revisit our draft budget in light of that.

“Overall, in the current climate this is a sensible budget produced in difficult and rapidly changing circumstances.”