The budget that funds north Oxfordshire’s waste collections, housing and planning services has been agreed, setting key public services on a firm footing.
Published: Tuesday, 28th February 2023
At a full council meeting on Monday 27 February, Cherwell District Council adopted its 2023/2024 budget, protecting frontline services while making £1.0m of savings from its £28.2m revenue budget.
Separately, the capital element of the budget confirms some significant investments, including £0.5m to further reduce the council’s carbon emissions.
Councillor Adam Nell, Portfolio Holder for Finance, said: “Councils everywhere face a difficult financial picture. But thanks to the expertise we have at Cherwell we’re adapting to that and have delivered a really good result for our residents.
“We are realistic about the challenges we face but our goal has always been to protect the frontline services that our residents rely on. By putting in place some well-thought out changes to the way we deliver some of our services and increasing our income in some areas, we’ve achieved just that.”
Cherwell District Council’s element of the council tax for the coming year has also been set, with a £5 per year increase for the average band D property.
Cherwell keeps just 6.62 per cent of the council tax it collects. The rest goes to Oxfordshire County Council (77.32 per cent), the Police and Crime Commissioner (11.43 per cent) and the town and parish councils (4.63 per cent).
Cllr Nell added: “The council’s separate capital budget also delivers capital investments across the district totalling £35.9m. A large proportion of this spending is funded by grants from central government.
“Here we are continuing to invest in our response to the climate emergency across the district with innovative solar car ports on their way to generate clean electricity at Spiceball and Kidlington leisure centres, along with solar panels at our Thorpe Lane depot and community centres.
“I am pleased that with these important projects we are standing by our commitment to being a forward thinking council which invests in the future of the district.”