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Wyre’s budget for the year ahead

Wyre Council’s budget for the year ahead was approved at Full Council on Thursday 10 March 2022.

The council has decided to follow the government’s lead to maximise spending power potential whilst keeping costs low for residents, raising council tax by just £5 a year, or 10p per week on a Band D property.

Councillor David Henderson, Leader of Wyre Council comments, “We continue to provide excellent value for money for our residents. From April, the overall cost of our services for a Band D property will be just 59p per day.

“Wyre Council collects Council Tax on behalf of all the authorities that provide services in the area, however Wyre's portion represents only 10.5% of your total bill. If you live in a Band D property for example, you will pay £214.74 Wyre Council for the year. 

“Over the last 12 years Wyre has along with other local authorities experienced a reduction in government funding. We have prepared for this by reducing spending, not increasing the level of borrowing and balancing the books through efficiency savings, income generation and prudent financial management including exploring commercial opportunities.  We also have an excellent track record in efficiency savings which has protected residents from the full impact of reductions in funding. We've saved nearly £7m between 2010/11 and 2020/21 that's an average of £626,000 per year. We are proud of what we have achieved this year and what we have planned for the future.  

“We have committed, for the tenth year running, to protect our most vulnerable residents by limiting the localised council tax support scheme for those previously on full benefit to a contribution of 8.5%, which is significantly lower than most neighbouring local authorities.

“Citizens Advice will continue to receive funding from Wyre at the same level to support their free debt advice service, which helps those affected by welfare reforms, and we will continue to deliver a care and repair service which offers free advice and support to both the over 60s and disabled people.

“The Household Support Fund launched in January and we have distributed tens of thousands of pounds already to those on low incomes to support fuel poverty. Following the government’s announcement in February, the council will be pivotal in delivering the Energy Bill Rebate scheme with payments of £150 to households in council tax bands A to D.

“We have launched our Citizen Access Portal to allow residents and businesses access to services online 24 hours a day, seven days a week and have over 13,000 users signed up already.

“We have continued our support for the NHS, using our venues to host vaccine clinics, allowing thousands more people to get their vaccines and give themselves the best protection possible against COVID-19. Wyre has one of the highest vaccine rates in the county and we are proud to have played our part in that.

“We have declared a Climate Emergency and committed to reducing the council’s emissions by at least 78% by 2035, before achieving net zero by 2050. We are leading by example and have become the first carbon literate council in Lancashire. We have started a review to look at how mitigating the impact of climate change can be better considered in our Local Plan. We are in the process of installing rapid charging points in our car parks for taxi drivers and residents, and have added electric vehicles to our fleet. We have also begun the planting of 25,000 new trees across Wyre.

“We have Introduced a ban on the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons on council land to reduce plastic waste locally and begun to trial meadow creation as part of our grassland management. More recently we have secured a grant to put in place de-carbonisation measures at Fleetwood market to allow the installation of renewable energy technologies. We are working on a number of flood protection schemes to protect homes and businesses in Wyre including the Wyre Beach and Dune Management Scheme - a £42 million scheme which will protect over 11,000 properties. We know there’s still a long way to go; but together, we can make a difference.

“We are working hard to help businesses get back on their feet. Since 2020 we have paid £52 million to businesses in grants. Through our Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme we have helped businesses to open in vacant town centre premises and at Fleetwood Market, giving our high streets a boost. We are re-launching our Wyred Up, our business support network and are pleased to be hosting the Wyre Business Awards again later this year.

“We have set up town centre partnership boards across Wyre to boost regeneration bringing together key stakeholders to form future plans for our town centres.

“Work on Project Neptune has begun and is due to finish this spring. The ‘Neptune Fish and Food Processing Park’ development located on Fleetwood Docks will provide a modern facility to support  fish processing businesses, safeguard jobs in the industry and create up to 100 new ones.

“A key priority for us is to welcome people back to Wyre. We are working with event organisers to enable events across the borough once again, as well as hosting a number of events of our own to help boost visitor numbers and provide entertainment for local people. Our theatres have reopened and we have made improvements to Fleetwood Market including a new outdoor street food courtyard and an art gallery space as an extension of the Market House Studios.

“We have invested £1.5 million of funding into our leisure centres and have launched two new weight management programmes to help people reduce their health risks and improve wellbeing. Our Healthier Wyre and Great Outdoors activity programmes are back up and running, offering a wide range of activities for people of all ages and abilities, many of which are free.

Ferry Beach, Marine Beach, Rossall Beach and Jubilee Beach have all received Seaside Awards. Poulton's Vicarage Park, Hawthorne Park and Wyre Estuary Country Park in Thornton and Fleetwood’s Memorial Park have all received Green Flag Awards again alongside the Mount gardens which received a Green Flag Award this year for the first time.

“The Mount Pavilion is now open following extensive refurbishment thanks to a £1m personal donation from Mrs Lofthouse and a further £2.4m of grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and is being used to host events including weddings. In recognition of Mrs Lofthouse’s generous personal donations and the work she has done for Fleetwood, we have created a commemorative memorial board in the gardens at the Mount to memorialise the tremendous impact she had on the town.

“As we look to the future with positivity following the pandemic, we are working on a garden of reflection at the front of the Civic Centre in Poulton. It is hoped this will provide a peaceful space for people to sit and take a moment to reflect.

“Communities remain at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to find new ways of working, improving our services and providing excellent value for money so that we can achieve our vision to ensure Wyre is a healthy, happy and greener place where people want to live, work, invest and visit.

Find out more at www.wyre.gov.uk/budget

ENDS

 

 

Published: 11th March 2022

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