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CCTV saved and car parking increases delayed
28/01/2022
£2.9 million additional government funding has led to some cuts not being needed
Changes have been made to the proposed 2022-23 budget at Cherwell District Council. As we previously reported the plan to stop funding the public space CCTV system has been withdrawn.
The Council will also delay its proposal to increase car parking by no more than 10p per hour from April 2022.
The budget proposals that were announced in December included making savings of £2.6m in 2022/23. This follows on from having to make £4.4 million of savings in 2021/22 as a result of a combination of national and local factors.
This year the council has received £2.9 million more government funding than it originally expected, but this funding is one off and can only be used in the 2022-23 financial year.
The result is that some of the originally planned savings can now be removed or delayed.
Under the new plans savings next year will be reduced from £2.6m to £2.4m. The additional government grant money of £2.7m will be allocated to contingencies.
The council’s Executive is due to consider the proposals at its meeting on February 7.
Councillor Barry Wood, Leader of Cherwell District Council, said: “We are pleased to have some scope to make changes to the budget first proposed in December. This is as a result of more government funding being received than anticipated. However, the funding applies only to 2022/23 and not 2023/24 and beyond.
“We still therefore need to make the majority of the carefully planned savings we announced in December. Longer-term issues include uncertainty around the government’s plans on resetting business rates and the New Homes Bonus Scheme, which is currently winding down, both of which are being prepared for in the council’s financial plans.
“COVID-19 is also continuing to have an impact across services, for example on income-generating streams such as car parking. Added to this, our population continues to grow and age at one of the fastest rates in our history, which puts more pressure on our budgets and services.
“To deliver a balanced budget for 2022/23, we are planning ahead responsibly. Having careful and measured forward planning means we can be a resilient and sustainable council in the future.”
Councillor Tony Ilott, Cherwell District Council’s Lead Member for Finance and Governance, said: “Protecting those in need will always be our priority. However, continued budget pressures mean that we need to continue to find ways to deliver services differently and more efficiently – saving money overall, including the running costs of the council – and generating more income, all while protecting as many frontline services as we can. We are pleased to be able to make some positive changes to our original proposals but we also continue to plan ahead very carefully.”
The new amended budget removes the proposal to discontinue the council’s £99,000 contribution to the shared public space CCTV system, which has cameras in Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington.
It also includes a delay to the proposal for an additional car parking increase of no more than 10p per hour from April 2022. The council will delay this increase to ensure increases in car park fees do not occur more frequently than annually. Cherwell says they have historically kept car parking charges as low as possible and any increase would be benchmarked against the prices charged by other car park providers locally and in neighbouring towns. Under the original proposal car parking income was expected to increase by £100,000 in 2022/23. Under the new proposal it would increase by £66,000.
The cost implications of ending the Cherwell’s formal partnership with Oxfordshire County Council are yet to be fully determined. The council says they will plan contingency funding carefully as details emerge from negotiations with the county council in the coming months.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam