Read below the Spring Forward from Leader of South Ribble Borough Council, Councillor Margaret Smith.
At the time of writing we were awaiting a vote on our budget proposals for the next financial year.
Thanks - once again - to an excellent team effort from our councillors and employees, South Ribble is weathering the economic storm better than most. In spite of having to significantly tighten our belts in recent years, we were able to announce a series of investments as part of our budget.
Keeping South Ribble safe is one of our top priorities, so we will again commit to funding our share of South Ribble’s PCSOs, and there will also be significant investments in CCTV across the borough. We will be putting £15,000-a-year into the current system, with a further £15,000 to be spent this year on replacing three out-of-date cameras.
At a time when many councils are reducing their commitments to health and leisure, I’m delighted to say that we will be putting an extra £100,000 a year for the next four years into our parks and open spaces. This will allow us to make significant infrastructure enhancements – and get them right first time - which will stand us in good stead for years to come.
Every year we commit a hugely significant slice of our total budget to maintaining and improving our leisure centres. I believe that providing people with as many opportunities as possible to stay fit and healthy is extremely important. Last year we spent more than £1m on running our centres and investing in facilities across the borough, and we will continue to invest in improvements, together with our partners South Ribble Community Leisure.
We announced three regeneration schemes as part of the budget: a continuation of our work in Leyland; a scheme in Penwortham and one for Longton. These are being developed through our My Neighbourhood forums, and we will be consulting the communities on them later in the year. I hope and expect that all three will bring economic benefits to the borough.
Our budget also shows that the green shoots of economic recovery are growing in South Ribble. Through our Local Development Framework we’re making sure that there’s sufficient and appropriate land available to accommodate this growth, supported by initiatives such as Lancashire County Council’s transport masterplan. These, along with other schemes, helped to bring in £175,000 more in planning fees than we were expecting in the last financial year.
When you look at the expansion of companies like Dr Oetker and Waitrose in the borough, and see the immediate rebuilding of the Lancashire Business Park after the terrible fire, it’s clear that businesses are keen to invest in South Ribble. There are also lots of major residential developments in the pipeline, which will all give a shot in the arm to our local economy once they are completed.
There are a range of measures in the budget to support local people and local businesses. We’re freezing council tax for the third time in four years, we’re freezing parking charges to help our traders and town centres, and we’re working with a range of organisations on a number of innovative ways in which we can help keep more money in the pockets of our residents.
Full council was due to vote on the proposals on Wednesday 6 March. You can view the full report on the council’s website www.southribble.gov.uk
Margaret Smith
Leader of South Ribble Borough Council
Taken from press release by South Ribble Borough Council