Borough council agrees budget as taxes set to rise
CHARNWOOD Borough Council approved its budget for 2023/24 at a meeting last week.
The budget sets out spending plans for services in the coming year and the council’s lead member for finance, Cllr Tom Barkley, says the council is still delivering excellent value for money.
He says Charnwood’s council tax remains one of the lowest in the country and is only a small part of residents’ overall council tax bill, with the county council receiving the largest share.
The budget sees the Charnwood element of an average Band D property rise by £4.78 (3.52 per cent) to £140.47 for the year. It equates to an increase of 9p a week.
The Loughborough Special Rate, the equivalent of a parish precept in villages and paid by residents of the town, will increase by £1.58 (1.99 per cent) to £81.11 for the year.
The council’s draft budget for 2023/24 looks to spend around £20 million on services for the borough. This includes generating extra income through fees and charges and using around £1.3 million of reserves.
The council is also continuing to invest in the borough, including:
■ A planned £2 million regeneration scheme for the centre of Shepshed, with some joint funding being provided from other sources
■ Investment in local parks including £200,000 earmarked for Queen’s Park in Loughborough and around £50,000 for the creation of a Community Garden in Syston
■ £65,000 to facilitate additional EV charging points in the Bee Hive car park in Loughborough.
Cllr Barkley said: “We provide a wide range of services for one of the lowest counciltax charges in the country and I am confident we are providing great value for money.
“We continue to operate as efficiently as possible and squeeze the value out of every pound.”
At the meeting, 39 councillors voted in favour of the budget, 11 against and there were two abstentions.
The council is responsible for a wide range of services including; collecting recycling and refuse from more than 70,000 homes in the borough; supporting homeless people; managing open spaces including the Outwoods; emptying dog bins, litter bins, street cleaning; food safety inspections; licensing of pubs and clubs and taxis; operating Loughborough Markets, town centre events and the annual fourday Loughborough Fair; running Loughborough Town Hall; operating three leisure centres; running Charnwood Museum with the county council; handling planning applications and strategic planning; and operating a 24/7 CCTV system.
People on low incomes can apply for Local Council Tax Support. This gives up to an 85 per cent reduction on the whole council tax bill.
The council is also playing a leading role in Loughborough Town Deal which has secured £16.9 million of Government funding for 11 projects which are worth a total investment of over £40 million for Loughborough.
The projects will improve skills, improve Loughborough town centre, create jobs, protect against flooding and support the local visitor economy.
The council has also been awarded £4 million from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and will be backing 10 local projects which will see improvements made to community facilities around the borough.