Councillors clash over handling of finances
Borough leader defends strategy as opposition blasts ‘mess you are making’
The council’s financial strategy came under intense scrutiny at a meeting on Tuesday evening, writes Shay Bottomley.
At a full council meeting, it was revealed that council reserves, which are under ‘considerable pressure’, may not be sufficient to ‘absorb the financial pressure’ projected for next year unless significant savings are made.
Leader of the opposition Simon Werner blasted the administration for its strategy which ‘will devastate council finances’.
However, he was countered by Conservative councillors for providing ‘no credible alternatives’ after the council had negotiated ‘very challenging circumstances’.
At Tuesday’s meeting, lead member for finance David Hilton (Con, Ascot & Sunningdale) presented an update on the Royal Borough’s medium-term financial strategy and plan for the next five years.
“The most important change is that the plan now reflects the priorities included in the corporate plan 2021-26, which guides resource allocation decisions and takes into account [the] increases in energy costs and levels of inflation,” Cllr Hilton explained.
“The council has a number of risks that should be well known to members, and as is always the case, risks are outlined in the report.
“These include low reserves, although they have been strengthened in the past two years, low levels of income, growing pressure on children’s and adult services, and others including the unknown longer-term impact of the pandemic.
“Government funding has ceased, but the full economic and health effects are yet to be revealed.”
Cllr Hilton’s report added there was a ‘considerable level of uncertainty around financial plans for 2023/24 and beyond’, and that the council would be required to make £7.306million worth of savings in the next financial year.
Council reserves are ‘insufficient to absorb the financial pressure projected
for 2023/24 and beyond unless significant savings are made on an ongoing and sustainable basis’.
Cllr Werner (Lib Dem, Pinkneys Green) said it was ‘absolutely shocking’ that the Conservative cabinet had ‘rubbished’ his ideas and those of other councils around the country.
“We have a CIL (community infrastructure levy) rate across the borough
except in Maidenhead town centre where most of the development is obviously ridiculous. I’ve seen figures of £40million lost to the council,” said Cllr Werner.
He added concerns over the council’s lack of insourcing, not selling ‘our expertise to other councils and organisations’ and making the most of council assets.
Two councillors say they have been ‘inundated with complaints’ about a fibre optics broadband company which has been carrying out works in Maidenhead.
Boyn Hill’s Stuart Carroll and Gurpreet Bhangra
(Con) say that projects undertaken by CityFibre in their ward have left residents ‘deeply disappointed and concerned’.
The telecommunications company has been building a fibre optics network across Maidenhead, laying new cables and installing telegraph poles in an attempt to boost connectivity.
But the Tory councillors have been left concerned by the nature of the workmanship, saying CityFibre’s repatching of pavements has been untidy, particularly in Great Hill Crescent.
They added that a pole was installed outside a resident’s home in Boyn Hill Road without any prior warning or consultation, with a letter attached to the structure inviting comments after it had been installed.
Cllr Bhangra told the Advertiser that residents feel their house values have dropped as a result, and fear the pole could fall on their homes in the event of high winds.
The councillors have written a letter to CityFibre’s chief executive Greg Mesch asking for a meeting with the company to resolve the issues raised.
“Your repatching work is very poor and unacceptable to us as councillors,” the letter said. “In another part of Boyn Hill [Rutland Place], your workmen cut around a car with the resulting workmanship being extremely poor and frankly unsatisfactory.
“We have been inundated with complaints and are deeply unhappy with the situation. Any works carried out in Boyn Hill and across the Royal Borough must be carried out to an appropriate standard.”
Cllr Bhangra added this week that the works are an ‘absolute shambles’ and he wanted answers as to why the quality was so poor.
“We welcome super fast broadband but not at the expense of residents who have to see the poor quality of workmanship that has been left,” he said.
“They are not cleaning up afterwards and residents are unhappy. It is really bad and we have had a lot of residents contact us venting their anger and frustration, asking why this has been allowed to be done. I would expect a lot better from a company like that, especially if they are rolling this out across the borough.”
Cllr Bhangra said that the telegraph pole had been installed a few weeks ago in Boyn Hill Road.
“I am sure they [CityFibre] would have got permission [for the pole] but it is still a lack of being told that this is what’s going on,” he added. “The resident thinks it is going to affect the value of their property.”
A CityFibre spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to learn of the concerns raised in Boyn Hill Road around the instalment of a utility pole.
”Our team is using a range of build techniques to roll out our full fibre network and in most cases, we place a small black connection box in the ground or on a nearby utility pole, but this can vary due to the unique environment of each street.
“It delivers access to faster and more reliable connectivity than a below ground deployment and it minimises disturbance to residents by reducing the need for roadworks.
“We understand that works can cause disruption, however we always work to manage this with all stakeholders, ensuring our build is completed as quickly as possible.
“CityFibre is investing at least £14million to deliver a town-wide full fibre network that will future-proof the town’s digital infrastructure for decades to come and we thank Maidenhead residents for their patience and support as we transform the town’s digital capabilities.”