Garden waste charge and car park fee increases among measures facing Banbury area residents as councillors approve difficult new budget

Members of the Cherwell District Council approved the budget for 2021/2022 last night, Monday February 22. Cost cutting measures and charge increases helped the council reach a savings of £4.4m for the budget.

There were a combination of factors coming together in 2021/22 that have led to challenging savings.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic it has meant Cherwell District Council has had to for the first time in many years make significant savings to the budget.

As part of the new budget several changes will be made, which include the introduction of a new food waste collection service giving residents the opportunity to recycle their food waste on a weekly basis. This will reduce the amount of residual waste and increase CDC's recycling rate. Residents will still be able to subscribe to the current garden waste collection service, which will incur a charge from July 2021.

Some of the other cost saving measures in the budge include:

- Saving £187,000 in the customer service and land charges team by measures including closing LinkPoint offices in Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington and providing appointment only services from Bodicote House, increasing land charges by £15 and removing cash and card payment machines at council offices. A number of other savings can be made by increasing the use of technology.

- Saving £365,000 in 2021/22 by providing joint communications, strategy and insight services with Oxfordshire County Council and moving the Cherwell Link residents’ magazine online supported by a limited print circulation.

- Mechanical sweeping in villages would be carried out annually with an ability to 'buy in' additional sweeps. This measure also includes some rescheduling of town centre sweeping. This would save £153,000.

- Review and increase income from parking charges

- Aligning charges for the five council operated public toilets in the district to 20 pence per visit everywhere. This would generate £15,000.

- Saving £400,000 linked to the costs of the council’s main leisure contract for leisure centres by not adding to the repairs and maintenance schedule, which already has enough funding.

- Entering into a joint working arrangement between Cherwell District Council’s property, investment and contract management team and counterparts at Oxfordshire County Council to save £304,000. By pooling resources and services, the council would achieve cost savings in buildings maintenance, security and cleaning and other areas of the operation and management.

Cllr Tony Ilott, Cherwell District Council’s lead member for financial management and governance, said: “Since 2010 we have been able to avoid making the savings experienced elsewhere in local government. We have been successful in local economic growth and innovation, which has resulted in local jobs as well as income for the council.

“However, alongside all local authorities, we now face a very uncertain funding situation. The government announced a one-year spending review and financial settlement so we do not have medium term certainty around our funding.

"There has also been delays to a realignment of the distribution of business rates, which is likely to result in less funding for the council in the future. A review around the future of New Homes Bonus which is a grant paid by central government to local councils to reflect housing growth in their areas leads to further uncertainty from 2022/23.

“Alongside these uncertainties, an ageing population, growth in population and our response to Covid-19 have added to the financial pressures, but this prudent budget ensures our financial sustainability and leaves us well-placed to face the future with confidence.”

Cllr Barry Wood, leader of Cherwell District Council, added: “With continued budget pressures, we are having to find ways to save money while protecting as many frontline services as much as possible. That is why we have moved services online, where appropriate, and why we are trying to generate more income. However, this year, regrettably, this will not be enough and the savings we have agreed reflect that.

“Being responsible now and having careful and measured forward planning means we can be a resilient and sustainable council in the future.

“Undoubtedly our flourishing partnership with Oxfordshire County Council has and will continue to help us lessen the impact of this budgetary situation and we are committed to working with the community and voluntary sector in ways that will also mitigate any issues.”

Cllr Sean Woodcock, the local leader of the Labour Party who represents the Ruscote area of Banbury, said the current the administration was intent on making things even worse for people.

He said: "At a time when our town centres needs shoppers more than ever they’re ramping up the parking charges. More money taken out of the pockets of local residents that can’t be spent in our shops.

"They’re even, having promised last year a green budget, going to start charging for your brown bins. We all know that the areas of Cherwell with the poorest recycling rates, are the more deprived ones; particularly places like Grimbsury.

"Yet they have decided to introduce a charging system that makes it easier to recycle properly, but only if you can afford to. Those with the least, get a lesser service.

A budget that damages our town centres, hits residents with a council tax hike while also making it harder for people to recycle.

"Cllr Illott talks about green pledges but fails to mention that they have already broken one of their flagship policies announced in last year’s budget; swapping to low-energy lighting which has already been scrapped.

"We’ve gone from a Green Budget to one that puts local people and businesses further in the red.

"It’s a budget that betrays the very people who this authority tasked with keeping people safe and businesses afloat with job cuts.

"Those who did the right thing are being hit from all sides by a government that broke its promises and now by a Conservative council too weak to speak out against them.

"Well we’re not having it and will be voting against chair."