Council tax to rise as ELDC look to invest in housing, parks and flood relief

Councillors last night (Wednesday February 25) approved the 2015-16 budget at their full council meeting.

The budget includes £200,000 for improvements to play parks within the district, £1.495m for affordable housing, £1.2m towards flood alleviation schemes and £1m towards a scheme to bring super fast broadband to the area.

The budget has been set following a £1.9million (32%) reduction in Government funding and will see a rise of 13p per month for most households in their District Council Tax (the majority of households in the district are in Band A).

This means that East Lindsey residents still pay the lowest rate of District Council Tax in Lincolnshire.

Portfolio holder for Finance, Councillor John Upsall, said: “Although setting this year’s budget has once again been an extremely difficult task, it is important that the council continues to invest in the things that are valued the most by its residents, such as affordable housing, improved equipment in play parks and economic development.

“At the same time though, a reduction in funding means that tough budgetary decisions have had to be made in order to ensure that the council can balance its books, as is required by law and this will continue to be a challenge in the years to come.”

Compass Point Business Services remains on track to provide in excess of £19m of savings over 10 years and establishing Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure and Culture is also set to make significant savings.

East Lindsey District Council’s proportion of the current Council Tax bill is around 8%, with the remainder divided between Lincolnshire County Council (75%), Lincolnshire Police (14%) and some Town and Parish Councils (Ave 3%).