Chorley Council pledge continued investment in vital services as part of budget proposals

Residents in Chorley are being asked for their views on budget proposals ahead of a full council meeting next month. 

Councillor Peter Wilson, Deputy Leader of Chorley Council said, "Our community has been through a huge period of disruption over the last few years, with the ongoing impact of the Cost-of-Living Crisis impacting those who live, work, and do business across Chorley.

‘’It's vital that we continue to respond to these challenges by making sure that the right services and support measures are in place to help protect our borough. 

"As a Council we face ongoing uncertainty around future funding for local government, however we have been able to continue to invest in local services and to generate income to reinvest back into local areas. We are committed to continuing to be an ambitious and efficient council to tackle the funding challenges that we face and have a successful track record of generating savings by doing things differently."

To continue to tackle these ongoing financial challenges, the council is proposing an increase in their portion of council tax of 2.99%, which is the equivalent of 10p more a week for a band D property. This will allow the council to maintain vital services, whilst still having one of the lowest council tax bills in Lancashire. 

The Garden Waste Collection, an opt in service, is also proposed to increase £32.50 to £37.50 per year.  

The range of investment proposed alongside the continuation of the vital day-to-day services provided by the council sees proposals to:

Provide housing where residents can live well with £56,000 to improve housing standards across the borough and prevent homelessness.

Create a green and sustainable borough by investing £353,000 to continue to deliver improvements to Chorley's Bus Shelter Network.

Invest £2 million across 2023/24 and 2024/25 to improve green spaces within the borough and increase the number of parks with a Green Flag Status.

Improve the visitor offer and economy with a £45,000 investment to encourage more visitors to the borough 

Invest £25,000 to focus on the future growth of Chorley's economy.

Provide healthy, safe, and engaged communities by investing £315,000 to launch an enhanced social prescribing service focused on supporting family and early years and

Invest £117,000 to deliver a health and wellbeing programme to support the needs of residents across the borough. 

Councillor Wilson continued, "Like households across the borough, Chorley Council has faced large increases in inflation that have driven up our costs, whilst also increasing demand for our services. Despite this, funding to the Council has fallen in recent years and Government instability has provided no clear long-term direction on funding.

"Government's failure to adequately support local authorities and its 14-year long continued decimation of local government funding has meant that the situation is indeed challenging, however, we have been working hard to reduce our costs and maintain services to protect what matters most to our residents."  

The council will also continue to support those most vulnerable and in need of additional council tax support through the council tax support scheme. 

Councillor Wilson continued, "It's never an easy decision to raise our charges, but the situation created for us by Government's failure to act has meant that we have had to take these measures to ensure we are able to continue to provide our excellent day-to-day services while able to invest wisely, making sure we have viable revenue streams for the future. 

"Our proposed budgets mean we can do this for just 10p per week or £5.44 a year for a Band D property". 

"We have continued to deliver over and above what would usually be expected of a local authority with the aim of addressing the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and making Chorley a great place to live. This has included supporting businesses and increasing jobs and skills, establishing key assets for the future, and responding to the needs of communities by enhancing essential services and facilities."

The closing date is 1 February and other versions of the consultation can be requested from our offices.

The consultation responses will be collated and considered as part of the full Council meeting on 27 February.