Conservative controlled South Ribble Borough Council’s share of Council Tax will be frozen for the fifth time in six years, staying at £208.30 per year for a band D property in 2015/16. It means householders will not have to pay a penny extra for services from waste collection and recycling to environmental health and maintenance of our award-winning parks. This has been achieved with the help of a Council Tax Freeze Grant of £77,037 from the government.
South Ribble Borough Council’s yearly budget is £12.753m for 2015/16, down from £12.851m last year.
The council keeps around 13p in every pound it collects in council tax. The rest is used by Lancashire County Council, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, the Lancashire Fire Authority and parish and town councils.
A proportion of the council’s funding comes in the form of a grant allocated by the government. Since the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review of 2010, this core funding will have fallen by around £2.9m (46%) on a recurring basis. This represents one of the largest percentage reductions faced by any council in the country over the last five years.
In that time, recurring budget efficiencies of more than £4m have been identified and achieved by the council. This has been done while protecting frontline services which are highly valued by residents.
The council currently has 315 posts (285 Full Time Equivalent, same as last year), having set up a new team in 2014/15 to support the economic growth of the borough.
Budget Report Summary
The report proposes South Ribble Borough Council’s share of Council Tax will be frozen for the fifth time in six years, staying at £208.30 per year for a band D property in 2015/16. It means householders will not have to pay a penny extra for services from waste collection and recycling to environmental health and maintenance of our award-winning parks. This has been achieved with the help of a Council Tax Freeze Grant of £77,037 from the government.
The council has an excellent track record of exceeding savings targets. A great team effort from councillors and officers means the council is in a better financial position than expected this year. At the beginning 2014/15, the council was aiming to close a budget deficit of more than £500,000. Around £410,000 of savings were identified and £130,000 from reserves was proposed to balance the budget. Having found more efficiencies during the year, the council will not now have to use any of the money from reserves.
The budget report identifies a further £590,000 of savings for 2015/16.
In spite of all these challenges, as a result of robust and careful forward planning, the council is forecast to run a budget surplus in the financial year 2016/17.
Leading the Way on Economic Growth
While funding it receives from the government having declined by almost half in the last five years, South Ribble Borough Council is taking a leading role in managing the growth of the borough, along with its communities, neighbours and partners.
South Ribble has enjoyed by far the best job creation rates in the North West over the last decade, and unemployment in the borough stands at less than 1%. The council has put a robust local plan in place and is in a strong position to meet its obligations to provide land for homes, while enabling and supporting the arrival of new employers and amenities in a structured manner.
The council’s existing ambitions for the borough have been underpinned by initiatives such as the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, the Local Development Framework and the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone.
The council has already committed £50m over the next decade to the City Deal pot. This is an “up front” commitment against money set to be gained through the development process during that time. This will enable roads and other amenities to be put in place earlier, unlocking the development potential of the sites identified previously in the local plan.
But it is not all about new roads and buildings; development will lead to significant investment in our town and village centres, and there are plans to enhance South Ribble’s green and rural nature as the area grows. Almost half a million pounds is allocated to improving the borough’s award-winning parks in 2015/16, in addition to the announcement to create a huge new park (“Central Parks”) as part of the council’s 40th anniversary in 2014.
The council is also investing in recruitment to support growth. It has bolstered its workforce with the appointment 12 new employees in the last three months, which includes the creation of a new Enterprise team, with other roles in licensing, benefits, transport and planning enforcement – which will ensure that any development is done properly.
In addition to the new jobs, housing and facilities that will follow, major improvements to our town and villages are in the pipeline, including the multi-million pound regeneration of Station Road in Bamber Bridge, as well as schemes in Penwortham, Longton, Lostock Hall and Leyland.
The hugely significant Cuerden Strategic Investment Site could create up to 2,500 jobs in the borough. A unique draft masterplan emphasises capitalising on the existing open nature of the site, which lies between Cuerden Valley Park and our proposed new Central Parks. This presents exciting opportunities to create natural links between the two.
The council’s long-running lobbying of rail companies last year secured a £3.5m commitment to make Leyland Railway Station fit for the 21st Century, with the addition of a new bridge and lifts. Work is expected to start soon.
What It All Means
· Freezing South Ribble Borough Council’s share of Council Tax for the fifth time in six years.
· The community has had its say on the new “Central Parks” masterplan, which is expected before the Planning Committee for adoption in March. Further significant investment in parks and open spaces, with £440,000 to spend in 2015/16.
Includes £200,000 for Central Parks, £50,000 towards improving drainage at Gregson Lane; £45,000 to improve paths at Withy Grove Park. De-silting the pond at Worden Park and improving paths at Todd Lane South also scheduled.
· A new waste contract is currently being finalised, which is expected to deliver savings of at least £2.1million over the term of the contract (seven years) while maintaining the best recycling rates in Lancashire. Investment of almost £1.5m in the waste collection fleet is in the capital programme for 2015/16.
· Restructure implemented in 2014/15 means £500,000 a year less spent on senior management than five years ago.
· Freezing car parking charges for the sixth year in a row to help support local businesses.
This includes all-day parking at Leyland rail station for £1 a day or £4 for seven days and 50p for up to two hours in council-run car parks.
· My Neighbourhood forums co-ordinating funding bids and delivering the local improvements residents want.
1. Moss Side playing fields
2. Ribble Gateway, Penwortham. We have spent £10,000 towards improvements to the landing platform by Priory Park and installing wooden sculptures and information boards.
3. The Live! Festivals – Longton Live! Leyland Live! Penwortham Live! Summer music and arts festivals that have proven hugely popular with residents and visitors and given a boost to the local economy.
· Continued commitment to community safety: CCTV, PCSOs and domestic violence support services.
Includes a pledge of £9,000 a year for domestic violence support, which pays for our inclusion in the county-wide Domestic Abuse Commission.
· £30,000 dedicated to run a personal budgeting service in Gateway, meaning residents can have one-on-one sessions to help reduce their debt, lower bills and make their money go further.
· Supporting vulnerable people: we are continuing to support the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, we have a ‘bill clinic’ to help residents save on energy bills, we run the Winter Warmer scheme in which over 65s and people with medical conditions can get free servicing of their boilers and fires.
· A £55,000 a year commitment to a new apprenticeship scheme run by the council. It is proposed to begin in September 2015.
· Committed to prosecuting benefit cheats by picking up the cost of keeping a dedicated investigations officer at South Ribble, in spite of the service being taken on nationally.