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Councillor Steve
Hogben
Labour Leader of the Opposition
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This is the last budget to be decided by Crewe and Nantwich
Borough Council, before Cheshire East Council comes into existence
on 1st April 2009. So it has been especially important
to plan our finances for the next year or so in a responsible
fashion. It is our duty to ensure that we hand on a sustainable
budget and responsible spending plans to the future
authority.
The Labour Group supports long-term investment
in front-line services that people want, at a cost they can afford.
In our view this is sensible, and maintains the stable and
sustainable financial position for the council, which we believe to
be essential.
Last year the Conservatives chose to cut the
borough council tax, but soon afterwards they had to ask the
council for extra funds. They also spent carefully garnered
reserves on several occasions throughout the year in pursuit of
items that were never included in their original budget – such as
their support for the legal action being promoted by another
council.
Thankfully, this year the Conservative
administration has been prepared to set a more sustainable budget.
There are a couple of specific initiatives that we particularly
welcome, not least because the Conservatives rejected them when we
first put them forward. Cases in point are the extension of CCTV
Control Room hours to provide continuous staff coverage, support
for the Safe at Home project being promoted by the Anchor Staying
Put home improvement agency, and additional funds for the
restoration of Queens Park.
But of course there are parts of the budget
with which we disagree.
Car park charges were increased last year - a
year earlier than planned. We opposed the proposal to increase car
parking charges again this year. The charge increases over a two
year period are way ahead of inflation. But the Conservatives
rejected our argument that car park improvements should be properly
planned and be paid for from our capital reserves, and have raised
charges instead to pay for the work.
Last year the Conservatives gave away £57,000
to parish councils, even though there are parish councils that do
not raise or need any income! We do not believe many parish
councils have assumed a repeat of this windfall this year. In our
view, if parish councils decide to provide extra services, they
should raise the money to pay for them, and many of them do
that.
Regardless of this, the Conservatives decided
they would rather perpetuate this gift for future years, and to pay
for it they cancelled the youth initiatives fund that Labour
introduced two years ago. On Budget Day, 27th February
2008, the Conservatives had a clear choice – donate cash to parish
councils that do not need it, or cut the youth activity budget. As
a direct result of this decision there are youth activities in
Crewe that will end within a matter of weeks unless a rescue
operation is mounted by Crewe councillors.
We set up the alley gate schemes which have
helped cut crime and vandalism, and want to see alley gates
extended to the maximum extent in Crewe. Following careful
investigation, we are satisfied that the budget can meet known
demands. We believe, however, that the scheme may need to be
extended. This will be an issue for the Cheshire East Council to
review. And while some match-funding for the Sustrans Connect2
project to improve cycling and walking routes in the borough will
come from developer contributions, we feel more can be done by
local councils, including the County Council, to support this
valuable project.
We proposed the use of large, unallocated
contingency funds to pay for specific measures and projects. For
example, we proposed to build new changing rooms at the King George
V playing fields, and allocate extra funds to other projects in
Crewe, but the Conservatives turned down the proposals. But we do
not intend to leave it there. In our view, the administration
may wish to revisit these projects when they consider the West End
Regeneration Plan in more detail, along with the local ward
councillors.
In conclusion, we support increases to the
Council Tax, fees and charges, which are broadly in line with
inflation. We strongly support continued investment in projects
that improve the quality of life for borough residents. And we say
that in the months ahead, all groups on the Borough Council will
have to work together, to try and ensure that Crewe and Nantwich
continues in future years to receive its proper share of investment
in facilities and services that benefit the whole
community.
Thanks to the professional officers of the
Borough Council, this final Crewe and Nantwich budget is
sustainable, and I thank them all for their sterling work and
dedication over many years.
Contact:
Cllr Steve Hogben
Tel:
01270 255749
Fax: 01270 214740
Email:
cllr.steve.hogben@crewe-nantwich.gov.uk
March 2008