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West Northants Council passes budget
23/02/2023
Councillors accepted a 4.99% council tax rise in their budget
by Nathan Briant, Local Democracy Reporter
West Northamptonshire residents will pay more for their services from April after councillors accepted a 4.99% council tax rise in their budget. West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) approved the £383m budget, which includes a £10m contingency fund, on Tuesday.
People living in a typical Band D property face a charge of £1,693.73, an increase of £80.50 from 2022/23. Of the rise, 2.99% will pay for council tax and the other 2% will pay for the authority’s adult social care precept.
Councillor Malcolm Longley, WNC’s cabinet member for finance, said he was hopeful that despite forecasts of a “tricky year”, the council’s budget will remain balanced. WNC will prepare to implement increased fees and parking charges which businesses, especially in Northampton, have rallied against.
Other changes will see WNC spend an anticipated £125.2m on adult social care, up from £103.1m in 2022/23. It will also spend £78.7m on children’s services, which will be given to the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust to pay for WNC’s share of it. It has paid £69.9m this year.
Labour’s Councillor Wendy Randall said the budget “seeks to wring every last penny out of our residents in the middle of a cost of living crisis” and was the result of “13 years of underfunding…with no end in sight”. The Liberal Democrats’ Councillor Sally Beardsworth said it was a “stand-still budget”.
Councillor Longley included two amendments proposed by the Lib Dems in his budget. A £215,000 bus subsidy for existing routes in rural areas will continue for 2023/24 and 2024/25 if necessary.
He also accepted a change that proposed charges in Brixworth and Daventry country parks will not start until 10:30am on Saturdays so people taking part in parkruns there will not be charged. Councillor Ian McCord, an independent, also made the latter proposal.
Labour amendments, which included proposals including investment in temporary accommodation and the installation of six bike repair kits across West Northamptonshire, were rejected by the council. Other amendments submitted by the Lib Dems and Councillor McCord were also rejected.
As a result of a three-year programme to harmonise charges across the authorities following WNC’s formation in 2021, residents in the former Daventry District Council area will pay a greater increase than others. They will pay an average rise of 6.1%. South Northamptonshire residents will pay 5.4% and Northampton’s residents 4.3% more on average. The next financial year is the last year of the programme.
Sixteen of WNC’s 93 councillors did not attend the budget meeting. They included 11 Conservatives, four Labour members and one Lib Dem. Only 68 councillors voted on the budget at about 8:50pm on Wednesday, with 51 in favour and 16 opposed. One abstained.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam