£100k for festivals and highest ever staffing costs in Morecambe Town Council budget

Morecambe Town Council's annual budget includes £100,000 for festivals and events as well as funds for more staff than ever before.

The town council has announced its budget for the year ahead which also includes £150,000 to improve the look of Morecambe - which could include new benches, picnic tables, bins, outdoor table tennis tables and dog agility equipment.

A £20,000 grant will be given to the successful Baylight festival of light in Morecambe and local organisations will be able to apply for grants from a £25,000 pot.

Town council salaries, meanwhile, are budgeted to be a total of £361,000 in 2023/4, up from £184,000.

The number of staff at Morecambe Town Council will increase to 10. They will include the Proper Officer (Luke Trevaskis), as well as a Projects Officer, Events Officer, Finance Officer and six public realm officers including two apprentices.

In 2022/23 the council budgeted for six employees.

The town council's expanding public realm team of 'Town Rangers' will carry out projects in Morecambe including weeding and litter picking.

With its £100,000 budget for festivals, increased from £60,000 in 2022/23, the council said it will "aim to build on the positive contribution of local events and festivals to help towards increasing tourism and improving the wellbeing of residents".

People can apply for grants to run their own events and festivals in Morecambe.

The money will also pay for the town council's own events - which in 2022 included a Promenade street party for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and bringing the world-renowned Mars artwork to Morecambe Winter Gardens.

They have also just announced a Coronation Carnival on Morecambe Promenade on Sunday May 7 to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III.

Related Story: Carnival street party announced for Morecambe Promenade to mark King Charles' coronation - Beyond Radio

The total predicted £739,000 spend in the 2023/4 budget, which has risen from £467,387 in 2022/23, will be offset by a predicted income of just over £739,000 in 2023/4 for the parish council.

A council budget report says this will "help the council cover its own costs and become more financially sustainable in the future - passing on a saving to local residents by reducing the amount of revenue required to be raised by Council Tax".

However the town council will also be raising an extra £1m from Council Tax to create a 'Community Action Fund' reserve to support the future use of the Frontierland site (below).

This has been controversial as it will contribute to a huge rise for council taxpayers in Morecambe for the coming financial year.

See related stories:

Morecambe Town Council to raise £1m from taxpayers in attempt to acquire Frontierland - Beyond Radio

Morecambe councillor calls for U-turn on controversial 'Frontierland tax' - Beyond Radio

BREAKDOWN OF BUDGET

The full Morecambe Town Council budget for 2023/4 is:

INCOME

Total carried forward from 2022/23 - £105,218.95

Council Tax revenue - £431,853.66

Events - £30,000

Training centre - £25,000

Grants - £30,000

Contract weeding - £63,295.67

VAT - £53,851.34

Total - £739,219.62

(Note, this does not include the £1m additional 'Community Action Fund' reserve for Frontierland, to be raised from Council Tax)

EXPENDITURE

Salaries - £361,000

Office Equipment and related expenses - £10,000

Professional services - £15,000

Office rent - £15,000

Insurance - £3,500

Audits - £6,000

Training - £6,000

Communications - £10,000

Grants committee - £25,000

Community engagement - £10,000

Environment committee (public realm) - £150,000

Festivals events and sponsorships - £100,000

Neighbourhood Plan - £2,500

Election costs - £5,000

Morecambe Lights - £20,000

Total - £739,000

The town council rents an office at Morecambe Town Hall, which is owned by Lancaster City Council. The cost has risen due to extra charges to hire the chamber and meeting rooms, and for additional office space which is required.

The professional services budget will cover expected fees to contractors for Health and Safety, for HR, for legal charges and to council advisory bodies.

Insurance costs are to cover "the proposed purchase of additional assets" and also any potential future events the town council may wish to hold.

The grant fund will be available for local organisations to apply for cash to support projects in the Morecambe community.

The community engagement budget will cover costs of door-to-door surveys, talking to local groups, the possibility of a youth council and hosting focus groups.

The Environment Committee/public realm costs will help buy equipment and street furniture for Morecambe including benches, picnic tables, bins and outdoor table tennis tables and dog agility equipment.

The total amount of income and expenditure on bringing the Mars artwork to the Winter Gardens in November has not yet been released. Beyond Radio has asked for these figures and has been told they will be available soon.

BUDGET AND SPEND IN 2022/23

As of April 1 2022, the town council had £164,429.19.

Income between April and December 2022 was £425,250.45 from Council Tax, £22,000 from events, £5063 from grants and £552.51 from refunds.

Expenditure between April and December 2022 was:

Salaries - £134,768.47

Office equipment - £12,581.94

Professional services - £7,410.90

Office rent - £5,315.78

Local Council Award Scheme - £60

Insurance - £1,960.13

Audits - £1,063.80

Training - £2,806.92

Communications - £524.54

Grant Fund - £8,000

Arts projects - £4,926.30

Festivals, events and sponsorships - £105,891.17

Litter campaign - £57,764.51

Morecambe in Bloom - £1,638.36

Neighbourhood Plan - £67.00

Election reserve - £4,399.45

The council bank account held £105,218.95 as of March 31 2023.

The budget was voted through by all councillors present at a meeting at Morecambe Town Hall on February 23, except Morecambe Bay Independents who were against the creation of the £1m Frontierland fund, saying it was "double taxation" for the people of Morecambe as the land is already owned by the city council.

Councillors voting for were: Matthews, Anderton, Whitaker, Bates, Boyd-Power, Cowley, Clift, Pattison, Clarke, J Pilling, C Pilling, Forster, Blaikie, Jackson, Dagdeviren, Hart and Stansfield.

Voting against were councillors Heath, J Ashworth, G Dennison and R Dennison. 

Morecambe Town Council is made up of Liberal Democrat, Bay Independent Group (BIG), MBI, Labour and independent or unaffiliated councillors. 

A spokesperson for the MBIs said: "The Morecambe Bay Independents were the only group to oppose and vote against this ludicrous increase".