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Exeter council tax up £5 a year

Wednesday, 24 February 2021 16:03

By Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter

The back side of St Sidwell's Point

On top of £72 for Devon County element

Exeter City Council agreed their "toughest budget" in many years but one they claim puts the city in the best position to return to good times.

No councillors voted against the ruling Labour group’s proposed budget for 2021/22, which includes an average £5 a year rise in the city's element of council tax, although the Green Party member, the Lib Dem and two independents abstained.

Last week, Devon County Council announced its budget would rise five per cent, or about £72 a year for a Band D property.

In his budget statement, council leader Phil Bialyk, said that the budget balances the books and protects frontline services, but that the last year through the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the council with a £6 million blackbhole.

He said that the road to recovery will be long, but that the roadmap they have produced puts them in the best possible position to recover, and that the investment in the city centre, including the new St Sidwell’s Point leisure and the bus station, will be a catalyst for redevelopment.

Construction work continues, with both projects set to open this summer. Cllr Bialyk says it is the biggest public sector investment in the city centre in a generation and when open, it will bring large numbers of people into Exeter.

Cllr Bialyk said: “It is so important to the city centre. Retail is changing and we are helping to anchor the city centre with a new bus station and a new leisure centre, both of which will be opened in the summer.

“This was a part of the city that was quite dilapidated and not well used, and it is being transformed. This investment has already had a big impact on the local economy, for all the small businesses who have been part of the supply chain for the leisure centre and the bus station.

“This £50 million redevelopment project is the biggest single investment council made in a generation and it will provide much needed new facilities and will give a massive boost to the recovery by supporting the city centre and acting as a catalyst for the redevelopment of the wider area.

“St Sidwell’s Point will be one of the best of its kind in Europe and I am so excited to think it will reopen in a few months’ time, and that the Riverside will also reopen this summer. City centres need local authorities to trace control to manage change and that is what we have done as leisure and entertainment are so important as anchors for the city centre.”

Cllr Bialyk continued: “We remain a thriving city in the UK, we are an innovative city with green growth here in Exeter, and that’s what we are focussing on in the years to come. To have a city centre which is new and dynamic is exactly what we need.

On the budget proposals, he added: “This is the toughest budget we have had to set in many years, but the measures we have taken in investing in our city centre and to produce a roadmap for recovery for the whole of Exeter, we have put ourselves in the best possible position to return to the good times.

“We are protecting the core services, the things people expect from us, and maintaining our ambition for the city. We remain a city where people want to work, live and visit, and a city of community and of quality of life. This budget is for the whole of the city and a city with a very bright future.

As part of the budget proposals, the Band D council tax will rise by £5 to £165.05 a year for the city council’s share of the council tax bill, with Cllr Bialyk adding that with the withdrawal of government funding, the action had to be taken to maintain services at the same level.

The council will bring forward proposals in the next few months for kerbside collections for glass and food recycling to increase recycling rates.

Cllr Matthew Vizard said: “This budget is a beacon of hope for the city. The new bus station and leisure centre fills me with hope and is a beacon for the bold and brave decision we took to invest in the city centre,” while Cllr Duncan Wood added: “The flagship leisure centre that will be an inspiration for decades and shows the confidence the city has in itself which will inspire partners to support the city in the recovery.”

Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, leader of the opposition Conservatives, said: “It has been a very difficult year and I don’t think anyone can object to the £5 increase in council tax. The Conservative group is proud of the work going on and we will be supporting it, so won’t be proposing any amendments or little changes here and this isn’t a time to play politics.

“We will support the budget and look forward to things improving and we are determined to work with the city council to make Exeter the best place in the country to live.”

But four councillors who call themselves the Progressive Group refused to back Labour’s budget, instead abstaining on the vote, without saying whether they wanted to increased council tax or lower it.

In a statement, their leader, Cllr Kevin Mitchell said: “This has been an extraordinary year with so much change. At this important point for our city, we believe the recovery must fully involve all the communities within the city and the budget must reflect this. The top-down approach for Labour’s development schemes is not a direction of travel that we can ever support and only by fully involving neighbourhoods will our city recover far stronger.

“Our community’s views must be given more weight in determining Exeter’s future than that of the same old names from the same old favoured organisations.”

Cllr Diana Moore, Green Party councillor, added: “While the Covid pandemic has been a necessary priority over the last year, the climate & ecological emergencies have not gone away; they continue unabated.

“We must see the Net Zero 2030 plans translate into action as a matter of urgency and that requires funding to help deliver low carbon jobs and services. We also need an annual carbon budget that aligns with the financial budget to show how we are working towards net zero carbon by 2030. Above all we need to make sure we involve communities on the journey to a net zero carbon future.”

Councillors voted by 29 votes to zero in favour of the budget. The four Progressives abstained. 

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