Last day for residents to have say on Peterborough City Council budget proposals

Today (Tuesday) is the last day for Peterborough residents to have their say on the city council’s budget proposals.

The authority currently faces a £23 million gap in its budget, but is hoping to balance the books in the next three years via a series of cuts to services and increase in charges.

Among the most controversial proposals is the potential ‘mothballing’ of the Lido in order to save £400,000 a year, which caused outrage among residents and local politicians.

Peterborough City Council has also proposed to close seven out of the 10 libraries in the city, which it claims will save £314,000 a year, as well as hiking council tax by 4.99%.

A consultation was launched on December 17 asking residents for their views on the proposals and will close on Tuesday, January 14.

The city council blamed the large budget gap on rising levels of demand in areas such as housing needs, home to school transport, adult social care and children’s social care.

The authority also blamed high interest rates, which it says have pushed up the cost of borrowing and refinancing debt, and made costs higher for materials, supplies and services.

A selection of key budget proposals to be aware of

Lido

Mothballing the city’s Lido to save £400,000 a year is among the controversial cuts proposed.

The council says that mothballing the Lido would be an interim measure while it looked at ways to ensure the pool was opened all year round instead of just the summer months – but residents and politicians from across the political spectrum have spoken out against the plans.

Leisure, heritage and libraries

The city council has proposed to close seven out of the 10 libraries in Peterborough, which it claims will save £314,000 a year.

This would include investing in a modernised Central Library and maintaining two additional core libraries (one in the north and one in the south).

It has proposed to reduce the opening hours of the Museum and Art Gallery from the current six days per week to three days per week.

The council also proposes the closure of four cafes that all currently operate at a loss, located in the Lido, Flag Fen, Vivacity Premier Fitness, and the Museum and Art Gallery.

Council tax

The city council could raise council tax by 4.99%. This would add £83.15 per year (or £1.59 per week) to the city council element of the bill for a typical band D property and take the total city council element of council tax to £1,749.42 (£1,666.27 in 2024/25).

The council says it would raise £5.2m per year.

Highways

The council proposes to cease funding of two speed cameras on its network.

The income generated from these cameras does not come into the council, although the cost to run them does.

It also proposes to cease participation in the National Highways and Transport

Network annual surveys.

These proposals would save the council £161,000 a year.

There are also proposals to reduce the ‘maintenance budget by 10%, prioritising works related to safety’ – which could save the authority £350,000 per year.

Council staff and building savings

In a bid to save money, the council have said staff reductions could be needed.

The consultation said: “A number of staffing reductions and changes across Corporate Services have been proposed to generate a saving. Savings are proposed in the budgets for Health and Safety, Financial Services, People and Development, Internal Audit, Communications, and the Register Office.”

The staffing reductions and changes are forecast to save £293,000 per year.

There is also a plan to reduce the cleaning specification at Sand Martin House and other council buildings.

The money councillors get to make improvements across their wards could also shrink.

Currently, each of the 60 councillors in the city receives £3,000 each per year to spend on community projects in their wards as part of the Community Leadership Fund (CLF) – costing the council £180,000 per year.

It is proposed to cut that £180,000 down to £50,000.

Bereavement services

One proposal is to increase cremation and burial fees by 10% and to review all other fees and charges.

The proposal also includes the development of a new scheme to enable residents to purchase ‘a cremation plan’ in advance.

A capital bid for £120,000 has also been submitted to build a body storage facility at the crematorium.

The council says this will enable annual savings to be delivered against current gas usage as the cremators can be run more efficiently.

The budget document can be found on the Peterborough City Council website, where you can also have your say.