Hastings Borough Council Corporate Plan & Budget 2017 / 2018 www.hastings.gov.uk
What we’ve done this year … • Played part in the re-opening of Hastings Pier (CPO and grant funding) • Restored White Rock Baths as The Source • Introduced the Selective Licensing Scheme • Restored Bottle Alley • Seafront improvements including new kiosks, palm trees and Pelham roundabout • Installed free seafront wi-fi • Established the Social Lettings Agency • Curated and ran the ROOT1066 International Cultural Festival • Built a new factory for BD Foods, generating income and creating 50 new jobs • Began a programme of property acquisition with the Dunelm retail park • Achieved FLAG 2 funding • Major programme of transformational change • Launched new website with ‘channel shift’ • Achieved major bathing water quality improvements and Blue Flag status • Grotbusted 50+ properties and issued CPOs on 60+ empty homes. www.hastings.gov.uk
Challenges We Face • 50% plus cut in government grant 2010- 2017; • Income volatility – business rates, factory/shop rents, development control, low interest rates; • Increased pressure on council services – for example, homelessness; • Increased costs – salaries, inflation; • We continue transition to a different council, doing different things, funded in different ways. www.hastings.gov.uk
Financial Headlines 2017/18 • Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA) down (11.5% reduction from previous year); • Actual Revenue Support Grant (RSG) down 28.1% (down £797,000 to £2.038m); • New Homes Bonus down 27.3% (down £379,000 to £1.009m); • £5 p.a. (2.04%) increase in Band D Council Tax proposed (borough element taking it to £250.33); • 1% on Council Tax raises £62,800. www.hastings.gov.uk
Revenue Support Grant – Government projection Percentage Percentage Decrease Year RSG Decrease Change Change (Cumulative) (Annual) (Cumulative) 2015/16 £3,727K 2016/17 £2,835K -£891K -23.9% -£891K -23.9% 2017/18 £2,038K -£797K -28.1% -£1,689K -45.3% (Est) 2018/19 £1,542K -£496K -24.3% -£2,185K -58.6% (Est) 2019/20 -73.5% £988K -£554K -35.9% -£2,739K (Est) www.hastings.gov.uk
Corporate Plan Headlines www.hastings.gov.uk
Income Generation What happened in 2016? • Muriel Matters House purchase: Net savings £170k in 16/17, £75k in 17/18; • Town Hall: Rental income and service charges - £89k in 16/17, £94k in17/18; • Commercial properties: BD Foods factory, retail park, new kiosk. Net income £200k. www.hastings.gov.uk
Income Generation What will we be doing next? • Commercial property investment; • Housing acquisition and development (both housing and commercial property); • Sustainable energy generation; • Expanding seafront assets (beach huts and kiosks); • New events in council-owned parks and open spaces; • Bids to external competitive funds. • Review fees and charges www.hastings.gov.uk
Driving Economic Growth What happened in 2016? • New Source BMX Park; • ROOT1066 international cultural festival; • Hastings Pier re-opened; • New commercial premises (BD Foods creates 50 new jobs); • Successful BID in the town centre. www.hastings.gov.uk
Driving Economic Growth What will we be doing next? • Building on the legacy of ROOT1066 and continue to promote Hastings as a creative and cultural centre; • Continuing to lobby for improved road and rail links; • Seeking new investment in Hastings; • Developing an Area Action Plan for the Town Centre and White Rock, and redeveloping White Rock Gardens; • Looking at new options for higher education provision; • Improving sports and leisure facilities; • Working in the most deprived communities to improve education, skills, training and job prospects (via CLLD). www.hastings.gov.uk
Cleaner and Safer What will we be doing? • Improve the cleanliness of the town; • Tackling anti-social behaviour and street drinking by using Public Space Protection Orders and ‘escalating enforcement’; • Continuing the Grotbusting programme and CPO of empty properties; • More rigorous enforcement against enviro-crime. www.hastings.gov.uk
Meeting Housing Needs and Delivering Support What will we be doing? • Supporting local people affected by welfare changes, including Universal Credit; • Licencing and proactive enforcement activity to improve private rented housing; • Developing council owned housing land; • Housing regeneration through the Coastal Space Programme; • ‘Working with developers and Housing Associations to improve the supply of new affordable homes’. www.hastings.gov.uk
Transforming the way we work What will we be doing? • Reviewing our services, activities and contracts; • Completing our ‘transformational change’ programme; • Using Business Process Mapping to work more efficiently; • Fully implementing the ‘Digital by Design’ programme, getting all our transactional services online. www.hastings.gov.uk
2017/18 Budget (1) • Proposed savings this year (for consultation): – Closure of Harold Place toilets (£64k); – Closure of Ore Village Centre toilets (£14k); – Seasonal closures at Alexandra Park, Rock a Nore, Falaise Rd (£2k); – Removal of council tax exemption for properties undergoing major repair work or structural alteration (HBC share £17k); – Community Partnership Fund reduced by £42k fixed for 2 years; – Digital by Design – service transformation (£155k); – Staff reductions – some 9 FTE (posts); • Proposed Growth - Cultural Development Officer £65,000 (+ one-off £20k to make Coastal Currents festival self-sustaining). www.hastings.gov.uk
2017/18 Budget (2) • Additional expenditure: Homelessness (predicted) £63,000 Apprenticeship Levy £35,000 Development Control £67,000 Cliffs (17/18 only) £150,000 Waste and Street Cleaning £54,000 • Car Parking Charges (various increases) • Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS) £1.090m; • EU grants (SHINE, CAN, FLAG) £2.3m; • Other externally-funded initiatives; • Government yet to confirm Disabled Facility Grants and Discretionary Housing Payments www.hastings.gov.uk
Capital Programme – 2016/17 Includes: • New factory unit (Castleham) £1.4m • Purchase of Muriel Matters House £4.2m • Purchase of retail park £7.3m • Disabled Facility Grants £1.4m* • Public Realm £50,000 • CPO Empty Properties £70,000 • Kiosk above Bottle Alley £79,000 • Pelham Arcade and upper road £165,000 * = externally funded www.hastings.gov.uk
Capital Programme – 2017/18 Includes: • Pelham Arcade and upper road £327,000* • Coastal Space £875,000 • Country Park £161,000 • Disabled Facilities Grant £1.4m (tbc) * • Public Realm £50,000 • CPO Empty Properties £70,000 • Coastal Defence / Groynes £2.4m* * = fully or partly externally funded www.hastings.gov.uk
What we said in February 2016: £881k in 2016/17 (to be funded from reserves) £1.49m in 2017/18 £2.481m in 2018/19 £3.5m in 2019/20. What we are saying now: £271k in 2016/17 (reduced call on reserves) £606k in 2017/18 (still a big call on reserves) £1.7m in 2018/19 £2.1m in 2019/20. www.hastings.gov.uk
In conclusion… We need to: • Increase the income we generate ourselves; • Continue to make additional savings and efficiencies; • Bid into external funds wherever possible • Continue to extend and improve services. But … There’s still a £2.1m deficit to close. www.hastings.gov.uk
Draft Corporate Plan and Budget available: www.hastings.gov.uk Email responses to: consultation@hastings.gov.uk By close on 10 th February 2017
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