Cabinet to consider draft budget

Published: Wed 13th December, 2023

  • The image shows a calculator and the words draft budget for 2024-25

Charnwood Borough Council has produced a draft budget for 2024/25 which will be considered by Cabinet on December 14.

The Council’s lead member for finance, Cllr Ian Ashcroft says the draft budget delivers a strong financial plan that supports the wide range of vital services which the Council delivers for communities.

Cllr Ashcroft said: “As a new administration, we have worked hard to develop a budget which supports effective and efficient services.

“We have also focussed on not using our general working balance reserves as we look to build more sustainable finances for the future.

“We have also targeted help towards people in the community who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. We have been able to allocate funding in the draft budget to create additional community grants that will support groups and organise who are helping people in need.

“We believe this is a very responsible budget, but also shows our priorities to target support to residents who really need assistance.

“It’s also worth reminding people that while we send out the council tax bills, we receive less than 10 per cent of the total amount.

“For that we provide a wide range of services, from delivering multi-million investment projects and managing three leisure centres to emptying bins and looking after hundreds of acres of parks and woodland.

The draft budget includes the:

  • creation of a £100,000 grants pot to enable community groups working with residents struggling with the cost of living
  • freezing of the charge for the garden waste service
  • general borough council tax increase is restricted to three per cent
  • Loughborough Special Expenses council tax increase is to be set at 1.99%

For more information about the budget, please read the report to Cabinet. 

The Council is also consulting on the draft budget and people can have a say via this webpage summarising the budget. Comments must be received by midnight on Sunday, January 14, 2024.

The Council is responsible for a wide range of services including; collecting recycling and refuse from more than 70,000 homes in the borough; supporting homeless people; managing open spaces including the Outwoods; emptying dog bins, litter bins, street cleaning; food safety inspections; licensing of pubs and clubs and taxis; operating Loughborough Markets, town centre events and the annual four-day Loughborough Fair; running Loughborough Town Hall; operating three leisure centres; running Charnwood Museum with the county council; handling planning applications and strategic planning; and operating a 24/7 CCTV system.