On Monday 15 January, Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet will meet to agree the draft revenue and capital budgets for the next five years (2024/25 to 2028/29) for public consultation.
The budget proposals include continued support for the cost-of-living crisis, help for the rural communities and vulnerable residents, support to address the Climate Emergency and resources to implement the new Council Plan agreed in December 2023.
Cllr David Curtis, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: "We have undertaken a comprehensive review of the Council's finances to arrive at a draft five-year budget plan that delivers on the priorities we set when we were elected in May. This will be this administration's first budget and will enable us to start making the changes in our community that will improve residents' lives.
"The public sector finances continue to be very challenging, and the external environment is volatile, which could affect both our income and our costs, so we need to be prudent and ensure we have adequate contingency in our reserves. The proposed budget balances the desire for action now, with the acknowledgement that change is needed to create a more cost-effective Council for the long-term and includes resources to enable us to modernise ways of working and become more resilient in the future."
Budget proposals include:
Rural communities and vulnerable residents
- £28,000 for Rural Crime Advisors, working with Community Safety Team, to improve response to rising rural crime.
- £85,000 to maintain support for the UBUS service, to protect the vital connection between isolated communities and public services.
- £5,500 for a new pilot scheme in Southam and Alcester for Customer Access Terminals in rural communities to enable face-to-face communication with the District Council.
Staying healthy and active
- £25,000 for a new Leisure Community Instructor to provide targeted support for people with long term health conditions.
- Reduction in hire fees for use of public playing pitches in Stratford-upon-Avon to incentivise more sporting activity.
Cost of Living Crisis support
- £250,000 to continue to protect residents from the ongoing cost of living crisis, providing grants for those most in need of support with energy bills.
Climate change emergency:
- £500,000 extra funding to enable the Council to achieve its carbon reduction targets.
- £250,000 to change the current refuse collection vehicles to the use of HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel to reduce harmful emissions by nearly 100%.
Council Plan and Change Programme:
- £2million to implement the new Council Plan, benefitting residents within six areas of focus, including delivering better homes, boosting the local economy, increasing green spaces, encouraging alternative modes of transport, supporting Town and Parish Councils and their local communities and improving the overall effectiveness of the Council
Cllr Curtis continued: "We also need to safeguard services for the future and invest in new ways of working, adopt the latest technology, build partnerships, make sure that our actions deliver as many of our ambitions as possible, and streamline existing council processes.
"We simply must work in the most cost-effective way, ensuring council taxpayers' hard-earned money is well spent. A Council-wide programme is proposed which will enable services to innovate and work more collaboratively, to save costs and ultimately have greater bang for our buck."
The draft budget also proposes an increase to Council Tax of £5.00 for 2024/25 and 2025/26 and 2.99% thereafter, which for an average home represents just an additional 42p per month to the District Council next year.
Following The Cabinet meeting next week, views will be sought on the draft budget from the public, local businesses and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee before final recommendations to be made to Council are considered at the meeting of The Cabinet on Monday 12 February 2024.
