R4U led Uttlesford District Council has approved the 2020/21 council budget to deliver on the next phase of R4U’s ‘residents’ agenda’. The budget will see more council houses, a dedicated eco-budget, fixing of the planning system, and a greater focus on generating income to pay for it.
Neil Hargreaves (R4U)“Secondly we want to invest in our community right now. In the budget we have committed to building 50% more council housing than the previous administration, for those in need in our communities. We are also expanding our contribution towards local policing until central government make good on their promise to replace the Bobbies on the beat that they previously cut. Residents need a safe place to live and want to feel secure.”
“Finally we are looking after our district’s future. For the first time there is a dedicated eco-budget to start addressing climate change, which we’ll increase as finances allow. We are also investing in re-engineering the planning function at UDC to fix the years of neglect by the previous administration that has resulted in the decade long developer-free-for-all that has overrun our towns and villages.”
R4U’s Neil Hargreaves concluded “We believe it is unfair to put all of the financial burden on local taxpayers – residents have already paid enough for failures by the previous council. Because of this the average UDC tax increase for 2020/21 will only be £5 a year, which is 1.4p a day. This is a 10th of the £50 increase of ECC’s precept. Instead we are changing how the council invests to generate a greater, but low risk, income stream. The budget supports building a £300 million commercial investment portfolio to make the council financially self-sufficient and so immune from never-ending government cuts – something it has never been. Residents can be assured that we are working hard for them and their wallets.”
UDC collects council tax for district services as well as ECC, the Police and Fire services, and town/parish councils. More information about the 2020/21 council tax precepts can be found on the UDC website.