Adur budget including council tax rise is agreed

The council discussed its budget – which comes in at £9.7 million – at a meeting on Thursday (February 24).

In December, a budget shortfall of £168,000 was identified but this has since been balanced by savings and an almost two per cent council tax increase.

Council leader Neil Parkin (Con, St Nicolas) said it was his twenty-second time presenting the budget.

“It has been another difficult year for all of us,” he said,  “I would like to say a huge thank you to all NHS, care workers and front-line workers.

“I’d also like to thank the residents and the businesses of Adur for continuing to work together and help each other in times that have been difficult.”

The leader said that Adur is ‘a success story under the Conservative administration’ but added that the road ahead is ‘less than ideal’.

“We’re having to learn to live with covid and this provides a whole new set of challenges for us to consider and respond to,” Mr Parkin said.

“We have cut our coat according to the cloth we have.

“Our ongoing prudent approach means that [shortfalls] are offset.

“We manage this by generating income from services and investment, but also through service modernization and the use of digital technology.

“This is a budget of a Conservative administration that gets things done, delivering excellent public services and value for money; creating jobs and supporting businesses; taking care of our precious environment; building new homes and improving existing ones; and helping our communities to thrive.”

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The Labour group put forward two budget amendments but these were voted down.

They included a community budget of £1,500 for each ward, which would cost £31,000 to administer, and an ‘Adur Visitor Guide’ at a cost of £12,000 to ‘put our beautiful towns and villages on the map’.

Opposition leader Lee Cowen (Lab, Mash Barn) said the community is ‘discontent with town planning’ and  Catherine Arnold (Lab, St Mary’s) urged for ‘bureaucracy to be taken out of decision making’.

Mr Cowen also highlighted a ‘cost of living crisis’.

“We recognize and commend this council’s continuation of the council tax support scheme without restriction, which supports those residents on the lowest incomes,” he said.

“But we’re on the precipice of a cost of living crisis.

“This isn’t scaremongering – it comes from the Bank of England.”

He also urged the council to address issues with its housing stock and buy back former council houses that had been lost to the Right to Buy scheme.

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The unsuccessful amendments were criticised by newest councillor Leila Williams (Con, Hillside) who claimed residents would be ‘dismayed’ to know that the items would be paid for with covid contingency funding.

But Labour defended its position, saying the amendments had been drawn up in consultation with residents and businesses.

Some of the changes that residents could see coming out of the budget include:

Increases to council tax and rent

Council tax is set to increase by almost two per cent, or 12 pence per week for an average Band D property and 11 pence per week for Band C properties.

Council housing rents will also be increased by four per cent – taking the average rent to £97.98 per week.

At a meeting earlier this month, Carson Albury, whose portfolio includes housing, said the increase was ‘absolutely necessary’ to help balance the council’s housing budget.

The budget meeting on Thursday was adjourned so that council tax can be officially set in March.

This is because a West Sussex County Council budget and tax setting meeting was delayed last Friday (February 18) due to storm Eunice.

Housing

The impact of an ‘increasing homelessness caseload’ will require an extra £150,000 from the budget.

But Mr Parkin outlined plans to continue building more houses, with council stock having fallen year-on-year since 2014.

“We took over the first social housing to be built in the district in 30 years, Cecil Norris House,” he said.

“Some of the people moving in there were crying and that’s something I’ll never forget.”

He said a further 100 affordable homes were set to be delivered, including at the Albion Street development.

He also outlined plans to redevelop Ashcroft sheltered housing and to work with residents to provide better quality housing at the Southwick Estate.

Green councillor Gabe Crisp (St Nicolas) said an increase in social housing was ‘extremely welcome’ but she called on the council to enforce travel plans at new developments to ensure sustainable travel takes place across the district.

ADC is also expected to spend £3 million on housing maintenance in the next year, which it hopes will address a ‘backlog’.

Business and regeneration

Mr Parkin outlined how a £1.7 million budget would assist regeneration.

He said the council had ‘worked hard’ to support local markets and delivered 4,058 covid business support grants worth £19.5 million.

Southwick Square improvements would be ‘coming forward shortly’, said the leader,  as well as the continuation of a citizens’ wifi programme.

Environment

The council’s environment budget has increased from £2.9 million to £3 million.

“We have one planet and one home so we better take care of it,” Mr Parkin said.

“Our environmental services budget will increase in 2022-23, including a particular focus on green spaces and biodiversity.

“The council’s decision to step in and buy large areas of land on the Adur Estuary, Pad Farm and New Salts Farm,  to promote the return of biodiversity and bolster flood defences, has been widely applauded.”

A heat pump fitted at the Shoreham Centre will save 24 tonnes of carbon a year, the leader added.

Mr Parkin also hinted that a food waste collection was on the cards.

A new post will be created to facilitate this, costing the council £19,740.

Worthing Borough Council will contribute £35,090 to this.

Wellbeing

The health and wellbeing budget will increase slightly to £1.35 million.

Investment in One Stop money coaches and Citizens’ Advice are set to continue.

Adur and Worthing Councils are also set to continue with the ‘proactive’ project which sees staff use software to identify and reach out to families who are ‘not coping’ financially.

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