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Issue - meetings

Budget Proposals

Meeting: 11/01/2022 - Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee (Item 144)

144 Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget Proposals pdf icon PDF 184 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Finance and Business Improvement introduced the report and outlined the additional funding to be provided to the Council within the Local Government Finance Settlement. The increased financial pressures to the Council through high inflation rates were highlighted. 

 

The budget proposals relevant to the Committee included additional financial resources for the Council’s planning department to support the development of planning policies and the Town Centre Strategy. As the work required would be one-off in nature, it was proposed that £1 million of the New Homes Bonus grant would be used to support these initiatives.

 

There would be additional staffing posts within the Planning Service in 2022/23; over the next three years the Council would experience a £75,000 loss in income per annum through changes to the Land Registry service. The measures to offset the proposed budget growth were outlined, which included the removal of several vacant planning policy positions to the total of £55,000, however the use of New Homes Bonus to conduct the work flexibly was highlighted.

 

The Capital Budget proposal concerning the Medway Street Flood Barrier was outlined in Appendix B to the report.

 

The Committee expressed concerns that the £55,000 should remain within the planning service to allow for the recruitment of additional staff which were felt to be required. In response, the Head of Planning and Development confirmed that the positions had been vacant long-term and that the funding was being used to facilitate an external consultants rather than remaining unused; its removal from the budget proposal for 2022/23 was a housekeeping exercise.

 

However, it was felt that the Policy and Resources Committee should further consider the use of the £55,000 for additional staffing posts in its overall consideration of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy in the near future.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

1.  The revenue budget proposals for service within the remit of the Committee, as set out in Appendix A to the report, be agreed submission to the Policy and Resources Committee, subject to:

 

a.  That the Committee strongly recommends that the Policy and Resources Committee look at the figure of £55,000 being used to increase staff resource for other planning applications and enforcement; and

 

2.  The capital budget proposals for services within the remit of this Committee, as set out in Appendix B to the report, be agreed for submission to Policy and Resources Committee.