Spending plans for 2024/25 approved by Council

Spending on services and infrastructure across West Berkshire from April was approved by Council yesterday evening.

The 2024/25 budget will see £174m delivering services across the district and £50m on infrastructure and improvement projects.

Delivering investment across the district, the £50m capital programme will see more than £10m invested in schools and education, £4m on improving our roads and £1m on active travel schemes.

Specific projects earmarked for spending includes:

• The introduction of contactless payments on local buses to make journeys even easier
• Work on byways in Lambourn and Winterbourne
• The final phase of the Thatcham flood alleviation scheme programme, funded by the Environmental Agency
• Exploration of the feasibility to generate clean energy through a solar farm and micro-hydroelectric station; and
• Improvements to the biodiversity on Speen Moors alongside a reduction in maintenance needs.

The longer-term budget sets out a proposal to invest £331m on capital projects over the next ten years.

Alongside that is a net budget of around £174m this year which will be spent delivering more than 700 statutory services for local residents. Used by residents every day, these include support ranging from collecting bins and providing recycling services, and maintaining parks and open spaces, to keeping children safe and families together. In the 2024/25 budget is:

• A reduction in the garden waste collection charge from £58 to £55 - which is a start to the Administration's commitment to phase out the garden waste collection charge
• An increase of £700,000 on the provision of Home to School Transport; and
• An additional £12.3m spent on social care; helping to keep children safe and families together and ensuring older people and vulnerable adults are looked after and supported to live independently

Speaking about the budget Councillor Jeff Brooks, Acting Leader of West Berkshire Council said:

"This budget is a good start in making our finances stronger and helping pave the way to delivering better services for our residents. We are focused on delivering better value for your council tax, and at the same time investing in services and infrastructure to improve how residents live their lives across the district. It's the first budget of the new administration, but it shows how we mean to go on and we're committed to delivering for local people in the years ahead."

You can hear more from Councillor Brooks talking about the approach taken towards the budget and our spending priorities in our latest YouTube video.