Sustainable budget set by borough council

Published: Friday, 23 February 2024

Oadby & Wigston Borough Council (OWBC) has set a balanced budget for 2024/25 despite a backdrop of local and national financial challenges for local authorities.

The budget was agreed at the Full Council meeting on Thursday (22 February) and will see council tax increase by 2.99% - the equivalent of £7.38 per year for a Band D household - from 1 April. Housing rents for council tenants will increase by 7.7%.

There are also price increases to some of the non-statutory services the council runs for the benefit of residents, such as its car park charges.

The new budget also confirms that the council will introduce alternate weekly household bin collections in the second half of 2024, as opposed to the current system of collecting both waste and recycling every week.

Cllr Samia Haq, Leader of OWBC, said: “Our 2024/25 budget protects our key services and sets us on a sustainable path that no longer relies on our depleting reserves.

“We’ve long been campaigning for a fairer funding deal from Government that will adequately support councils, especially smaller ones such as ourselves. Sadly, this has not been forthcoming and combined with inflationary pressures and increased staffing costs, we have to adapt some of our services to ensure the council remains sustainable.

“We remain proud of the high quality, key services that we deliver day in day out and committed to providing value for money to residents, despite the financial challenges we are tackling.”

Residents can expect to hear more about the change to alternate weekly collections later in the year. Collections remain the same in the meantime.