Gloucestershire County Council has put forward details of an ambitious budget for the 2024/25 financial year, with a £42 million increase on 2023/24 numbers.
Under the proposals that have been released for community engagement, council spending will hit £609 million with £14.2 million of this expected to come from a council tax increase of 2.99%. With this coming alongside a 2% increase in the adult social care precept that should raise an additional £7.8 million, Gloucestershire is still expected to have one of the lowest council tax levels in the country.
A further £15 million for the budget is also anticipated to come from the energy generated by waste.
Investment into transport will continue to be a major feature of the budget, as £37 million is ringfenced to make improvements to roads whilst also completing the new transport hub at Arle Court. This comes as part of a larger, £171 million scheme. Through other public transport improvements, bus frequency and operating hours will be increased thanks to a £1.3 million commitment.
School improvements are also to be made through the budget, part of this will see a new special school and a new primary school brought about by £1.9 million of investment.
Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, said:
“This is a budget that will mean 2024 is yet another year where we will deliver for communities, for business and for the future of this great country.
“Unlike many other councils who are struggling to balance the books, we haven’t had to make dramatic cuts to the services you rely on each day – in fact, we’ve increased our investment in them by £42 million.”
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