The prices of parking in council-run car parks are set to rise by around 10 per cent as Lancaster City Council has unveiled its budget proposals for 2024/25.
The council's garden waste collection service could also go up from £41 to £45 annually under the proposals, which were revealed today (January 15).
A price review at the council-run Salt Ayre Sports Centre in Lancaster, is also proposed.
The customer service desks at Morecambe and Lancaster Town Halls could also return to a full-time 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday operation, after being cut to half-days when they reopened in 2022 after the Covid pandemic.
Plans have also been revealed to expand the Lancaster City Museum shop to provide some of the services previously handled by Lancaster and Morecambe Visitor Information Centres - which closed in 2023.
There are no plans to cut any more major frontline services in the budget proposals, as first reported by Beyond Radio in November 2023.
The proposals are based on a forecasted rise in the city council's share of Council tax by the maximum allowable by government, 2.99 per cent.
This would mean a £7.45 annual increase for a Band D property.
The city council's share of Council tax works out at around 11 per cent of an overall bill, with the rest going to Lancashire County Council, the police, the fire service and parish councils such as Morecambe Town Council.
The proposals will have to be agreed by full council at the budget meeting in February.
Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox (pictured below), cabinet member for finance, said the council was "better placed financially than we could have anticipated a year ago".
This time last year, the council faced a £2.8m defecit and unveiled "painful" plans to balance its budget including the closure of the VICs and cutting opening hours of its museums.
They also originally planned to stop running the Platform concert venue in Morecambe, until a U-turn in November 2023.
But for 2024/25, the council has proposed balancing its budget, which it must do by law, through "no cuts to outwardly facing services", said Councillor Hamilton-Cox.
Around £912,000 taken from council reserves to pay for demolishing buildings at the Lune Industrial Estate in Lancaster following the recent fire at the former A1 Supa Skips building, have been partly covered by a "better than expected" contribution from business rates, he said.
The council still hopes to get some more money back from the government, after deciding to spend on helping the fire service tackle the massive commercial waste blaze which went on for almost a month in December 2023.
Councillor Hamilton-Cox said "most car parking tariffs will go up by 10 per cent, some by more".
He said the cost of lighting in council-run car parks has "increased threefold" since 2022.
Councillor Hamilton-Cox also said the council was better off than expected after the recent annual Local Government Settlement, which provides funding for councils from government.
His colleague Councillor Caroline Jackson (pictured below), deputy leader of Lancaster City Council, said plans to expand the Lancaster City Museum shop were "not the VIC, but a place where people can go and collect some of the information they had before".
Councillor Jackson also said the shop would sell gifts, similar to the VICs.
A new digital touch screen providing visitor information is also planned for the City Museum.
Similar screens were unveiled in The Platform in Morecambe and The Storey Centre in Lancaster last week.
Read more: New 'VIP' tourist info touch screens unveiled in Lancaster and Morecambe - Beyond Radio
Lancaster City council will continue to spend money on the arts, including festivals such as Light Up Lancaster (pictured below).
The council will also be ramping up efforts to provide temporary accommodation for homeless and vulnerable people on low incomes.
"This budget shows we are still spending," said Councillor Jackson.
Here is our story on the Lancaster City Council budget for 2023/24.
INTERVIEWS: Full breakdown of "painful" Lancaster City Council budget plans revealed - Beyond Radio
And here is our story on the council's announcement of a shake-up in car parking charges in 2022.
New fees for car parking in Lancaster and Morecambe revealed - Beyond Radio
Lancaster City Council's cabinet, who will present the proposals to full council, is made up of an alliance of Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat councillors. Councillor Hamilton-Cox, said: “The council’s finances remain in a difficult position, a position shared nationally across the public sector.
“Such is the scale of the problem that one in five councils is warning that they may need to declare themselves bankrupt in the next year. “While we’re not in that position, balancing the budget both in the short and the medium term remains a tough task. “We understand that these price increases may be unpopular to some, but they need to be set against the double-digit inflation of the past two years. “The increases are necessary to keep pace with rising costs and make sure we are able to continue to provide frontline services to a good standard.” The council has also agreed to continue 100 per cent Council tax support for those on the lowest incomes and most affected by the cost of living crisis, one of the few local authorities in England to do so.
In December the council finalised its Council Plan 2024-2027 to set out its priorities and ambitions, in order to match resources more closely with those redefined priorities.
The savings proposals have been prepared following a public survey with residents and businesses. The results of the survey can be found on the council’s KeepConnected consultation portal here. The council’s Budget and Performance Panel will consider the proposals at its meeting on Wednesday January 31 at Morecambe Town Hall, starting at 6pm, and everyone is invited to attend. A public briefing has also been arranged for Monday January 22 at 6pm to provide more information on the financial challenges faced by the council and how it intends to tackle them. To register visit here. More information on the council’s financial position can also be found here.
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