Council tax hike, cuts to spending and new charges on budget agenda
Plus, first glimpse pics from new Sally Wainwright BBC drama Riot Women shot right here in Calderdale
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Calderdale Lead.
The weather has gone from one extreme to the other with temperatures this week reaching a balmy 9 degrees just a few days after hitting minus-9!
In this issue we have details of the proposals town hall chiefs are putting forward for next year’s budget with tough decisions needed to balance the books
Plus, we have a first look at Riot Women, a new star-studded BBC drama from Sally Wainwright which was shot around the borough last summer.
So, without further ado, on with this week’s editions…
Tough decisions ahead as town hall chiefs try to balance budget
By the LDRS’ John Greenwood
A council tax rise, cuts and charges are being recommended to Calderdale councillors as they consider setting their budget for 2025-26.
Senior councillors unveiled a suite of proposals at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet including an almost-5% rise in council tax, some reductions in services and rises in some charges including for removing bulky waste and garden waste.
Further increases, depending on conclusions reached in an ongoing review of each Calderdale town, are likely for parking too.
But not all charge increases will fall on residents, with proposals to start charging any works promoter digging up the roads for the days these occupy the highway.
Leader of Calderdale Council, Coun Jane Scullion, presenting the proposed budget to Cabinet, said high costs of providing social care, a continuing legacy from Covid and high inflation had taken a toll, but the council remains ambitious.
This being committed to building a new leisure centre on the site of the old one at North Bridge, Halifax, where costs had been brought down and redesign work done, with the council now awaiting quotes from contractors for elements of the work.
Coun Scullion says 2024-25 had been a difficult year where although savings targets had been met these were outstripped by rising demand for social care packages for all ages which councils legally have to provide and now account for 70 per cent of the authority’s day-to-day spending.
But an uplift in support from the new Labour government, following rebalancing how much support funding councils get, has seen Calderdale awarded a 7.4% increase in its base funding, higher than the six per cent average nationally.
This means that while Calderdale was looking at having to make savings of around £10 million next year, that has reduced to £3 million.
Budget proposals are now open for consultation and all councillors will set a balanced budget, which they have to do legally, when they meet on February 24.
If accepted they will mean the maximum Council Tax rise allowed without recourse to a referendum, 2.99 per cent plus an additional two per cent ring-fenced to help offset social care costs.
To save £3 million Cabinet are recommending reviewing level of social care need to reduce cost of packages and focusing services on what it statutorily has to provide including over mental health provision.
Targeted youth work will be reduced and some support for providers of wrap-around childcare and out-of-school or holiday care for children with special needs and disabilities will crease, if proposals are adopted.
Register office fees (by 10%), garden (an extra £10) and bulky waste (initial charge retained at £25 but lower number of items and then a £5 charge for each additional item) charges and eventually some “targeted” parking charges will go up.
Across the council there will be some job losses, but the aim is to achieve these by not filling vacant posts and by retirement or reductions to part time working, say senior councillors.
Smarter working across the council including maximum use of technology should save income.
If approved, the budget looks to “one-off” use of discretionary funds, for example some specific from planning, to reduce pressure on road maintenance in the short term, releasing money for day-to-day maintenance.
Reductions in investment to Shibden Hall, Halifax, and the town’s Victoria Theatre are proposed, but senior councillors say these are possible because of their success, more visitors in visitor numbers to the former expected to bring in more income and more seats sold at the latter meaning they do not need as much support.
There will be less money for new library books in the short term, with a temporary reduction for two years to the fund used to buy these, Cabinet heard.
Coun Scullion said it had been a hard year but the proposed budget was a “transitional” one with some proposals also looking to the medium term.
While it was disappointing to only get a one-year settlement from the new Government it was accepted after 14 years of erosion to local government finances that change would not happen overnight.
The proposals also look to strengthen the council’s reserves, by £1 million in 2026-27 and £2.8 million further in 2027-28.
Where more councils have been in the news because of their financial situation, some declaring effective bankruptcy by issuing a section 114 notice or having levels of control imposed on them, Calderdale remained rated a good council by external assessors and auditors.
It had been a difficult year but the council remained ambitious for the future, said Coun Scullion.
“We are clear we don’t want to go bankrupt and don’t want to borrow money to pay everyday bills – we want decisions to be taken locally here in Calderdale,” she said.
People can see the proposals by clicking here.
Riot Women: First look at new Sally Wainwright drama
The BBC has released first-look images of new star-studded drama Riot Women, which was filmed in and around Calderdale last summer.
From the golden pen of Happy Valley writer Sally Wainwright, Riot Women follows five middle-aged women who form a makeshift punk rock band as they cope with work, grown-up children, dependent parents, husbands and the menopause.
The women come together to create the band in order to enter a local talent contest but, in writing their first original song, soon discover that they have a lot to say - and this is their way to say it.
As you can see below, first-look pics show stars Lorraine Ashbourne (Sherwood), Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It), Rosalie Craig (Moonflower Murders), Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner), and Amelia Bullmore (The Jetty) in full band get-up.
Wainwright says: "I'm having a whole new buzz of excitement about the show as we bring it together in the edit, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!"
The six-parter - which is due to hit screens later this year - also has a recognisable supporting cast including Anne Reid (The Sixth Commandment), Sue Johnston (The Royle Family), Peter Davison (Doctor Who) and Claire Skinner (Outnumbered).
According to the blurb from the BBC: “As they juggle demanding jobs, grown-up children, complicated parents, husbands who’ve buggered off, and disastrous dates and relationships, the band becomes a catalyst for change in their lives, and it’s going to make them question everything.
“The six-part series is a testament to the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation.
“As the story progresses, it’s more than music that binds them; a deeply potent, long-buried secret begins to surface – one that unexpectedly entangles Kitty and Beth, the two unlikely creative masterminds behind the band, in a complex triangle - and threatens to tear everything apart.”
Riot Women will feature original songs from the band ARXX.
We’ll have further details of broadcast dates later in the spring.
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Enjoy the rest of the week and we’ll be back in your inbox on Saturday!
Andrew