Media Release
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
For immediate release
Council approves budget for the year ahead
Charnwood Borough Council approved its budget for 2024/25 at a meeting on Monday, February 26, 2024.
The budget sets out the Council’s spending plans for services in the coming year and includes the creation of a £100,000 grants pot to support community groups who help residents struggling with the cost of living and freezing the cost of the garden waste service.
The budget also sees an increase in the Charnwood element of council tax by 8p a week for the average Band D property in the borough.
The council tax increase means the annual charge for the Charnwood element of council tax for an average Band D property will rise by £4.21 over 12 months (three per cent) from April 1, 2024. The Council has one of the lowest council tax charges in the country.
There is also an increase in the Loughborough Special Rate, the equivalent of a parish precept in villages and paid by residents of the town. The Loughborough Special Rate will rise by £1.61 (1.99 per cent) from April 1, 2024.
Cllr Ian Ashcroft, the Council’s lead member for finance, said: “This budget will ensure that we can keep offering residents of Charnwood efficient and effective services during these uncertain financial times.
“We are supporting residents who are struggling with the rise in the cost-of-living with additional funding for Charnwood Community Grants being available to community organisations who are helping those most in need.
“It is important to note that Charnwood only receives around seven per cent of the overall cost that people pay with the majority going to organisations such as Leicestershire County Council, the police and fire service.”
The Council’s draft budget for 2024/25 looks to spend around £20 million on services for the borough. It is projected that none of the Council’s general fund reserves will need to be spent.
At Monday’s meeting at Loughborough Town Hall, councillors voted unanimously in favour of the budget.
A report to Council can be read here: www.charnwood.gov.uk/report24
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.
ENDS