The 2021/22 budget was announced at a full Council meeting on Tuesday 23 February 2021.
At Broxbourne’s recent Council meeting, Councillor Paul Mason, Cabinet Member for Finance and Business Services, presented the 2021/22 budget. The budget provides for a modest increase in council tax of just £5 per year which will bring the Broxbourne’s share of the annual charge for a band D property to just £143.24. Despite this increase, Broxbourne will once again set the lowest council tax in England when Parish Precepts are included.
Although the Council is responsible for collecting council tax, it only keeps a very small percentage of the total amount collected. The amount collected is divided between Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), receiving 80.5% of the total bill and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire (PCC), receiving 11.7%. Broxbourne Borough Council retains only 7.8%.
The 2021/22 allocated budget will build on the work the Council has done in recent years, particularly on improving how local people and businesses access the services they need. This ongoing work has meant that, during what has been an incredibly difficult past year, services that local people rely on have been able to continue without disruption.
The 2021/22 budget shows a commitment to the future and will ensure that the Council has the resources in place to deliver its priorities and support the local economy post-pandemic.
Funding has been set aside to support the Council’s sustainability strategy. This will deliver an action plan to enhance and protect the environment and reduce the local carbon footprint, and will also see targeted investment in the Borough’s green open spaces to make them even more welcoming, enjoyable and accessible.
The plans for next year will also ensure that the Council’s sport and leisure facilities, including the Laura Trott Leisure Centre, the John Warner Sports Centre and Cheshunt Park Golf Club are able to prosper when restrictions are lifted. Plans are also in place to re-launch the Spotlight as a social and cultural hub for the Borough, when restrictions allow. Funding has also been made available to support the newly established Lowewood Museum Trust.
The capital programme includes projects which will support the local economy, such as the construction of a new technology and business centre (similar to the Ambition Broxbourne Business Centre in Hoddesdon) at the Maxwell’s site just north of the M25. Funding is also included for the initial enabling works for the exciting Brookfield Riverside development.
Cllr Paul Mason, Cabinet Member for Finance and Business Services, said, “As the country moves forward and emerges from the cloud of the pandemic, building on the optimism and positivity the vaccination programme brings, the budget proposals for next year underpin the Council’s commitment to helping the residents and businesses of this Borough recover, prosper and grow.”
Cllr Lewis Cocking, Leader of the Council, said, “I am pleased to announce the Council’s 2021/22 budget and I am looking forward to seeing our community and local economy flourish post-pandemic. The Council is doing its best to assist in the recovery of local businesses. Better days are coming and we truly have come together in these trying times.”