Leeds council tax set to rise as council votes on budget
The plans could also see some Little Owls nurseries close
Some Little Owls nurseries could close and council tax will rise under Leeds City Council’s budget plan which is set to get the go-ahead today.
The plans are being voted on by the council at a meeting this afternoon as it looks to make more than £58m of savings.
The plans would also see Bonfire Night displays axed permanently and some streetlights dimmed, while council house tenants would see their rent hiked by seven per cent, an average of £5 a week.
It comes as the city council says it’s under more financial pressure than ever before, due to a combination of spiralling inflation, ministerial cuts to local government funding and rising demand in adult social care.
Speaking at a media briefing at the end of last year, council leader James Lewis said: “After 12 years of austerity forced on us as a council, we’re looking at a hugely difficult situation for council services.
“Whether it’s day-to-day services people rely on, like emptying the bins, sweeping the streets and fixing the roads, or whether it’s the things we’re doing to make Leeds a fun, enjoyable and successful city, it’s getting unsustainable to do all that.
“So we’re really calling on the government to properly review local government finance and the funding model that’s used for councils.”
Councillor Lewis insisted public safety would not be compromised by the dimming of streetlights, which the authority says will only be done in areas where people aren’t walking or driving.
Thousands are already regularly switched off across the city between midnight and 5.30am in a move the council says has not led to any increase in crime or anti-social behaviour.
Five of the council’s 30 Little Owls nurseries have also been earmarked for potential closure, in a bid to save just over £3m.
Little Owls’ Rothwell centre is set to shut, while the futures of ones in Bramley, Meanwood, Shepherds Lane and Swarcliffe will all be placed under review.
Other council-run nurseries which lie close together could be merged.
Councillor Lewis said the Little Owls service was currently running at a loss and that it had to be made “financially viable”.
Council tax could rise by nearly five per cent, which includes a 2 per cent hike in the adult social care precept.
And the council has defended plans to hike rent for council house tenants by seven per cent – saying it’s in line with other areas, and the money will go on maintaining and repairing those properties.
Controversial plans to charge for parking at many of the city’s parks and green spaces have been scrapped following feedback from a public consultation.