Huge investment in Fenland leisure facilities agreed while council tax is frozen again

Fenland District Council has approved a huge investment in arts, leisure, and heritage over the next two years – and has frozen its share of our Council Tax Bills.

Monday’s full council meeting saw the introduction of the Fenland INSPIRE project which includes a raft of projects and schemes that will benefit the whole of the district from a new swimming pool for Chatteris, to a new country park in March, and a village green for Wimblington.

In all, the authority agreed to add £30million over the next three years to its budget planning to cover dozens of projects. Others include a new bowls green in Wisbech Park, the acquisition of Whittlesey Monastery, and a new headquarters and pitches for March Rugby Club.

The vast majority of the £30million will go on leisure facilities, all four of the town’s leisure centres are to be refurbished and additional facilities added – Chatteris finally getting its own public pool being one of the biggies.

At the same time, the council has announced it is freezing its share of the Council Tax for the eighth year in a row – meaning people living in an average Band D property will continue to pay £254.79 a year for services provided by the district council, which include bin collections, parks and open spaces, and free car parking.

The decision came despite concerns the authority is facing funding shortfalls in future years.

But council leader Cllr Chris Boden said: “I think it is really important that we recognise the financial pressure that many families in Fenland are suffering at the moment.

“Why should we just add to that pressure when we have the resources, even though it would be much easier for us to just say let’s increase council tax by as much as we can, but that is not the way we have done it.”

Despite Fenland’s stance on no council tax rise, residents will be facing an increase in their bills as all the other precept authorities: Cambridgeshire County Council, Fire Service, Police and Crime Commissioner and the Combined Authority, have all agreed to put their shares up.

Individuals bills will vary from town to town, village to village, depending on what the parish council’s decide as their precept for the year.

Without putting up its council tax Fenland is facing a funding shortfall of £1.4million over the coming financial year, however, councillors have agreed to use money saved in its reserves to address the gap.

The council’s announcement of all the new projects has come in response to plans by the Government to abolish the district council under a once-in-a-generation shake-up of local government. The last big changes were in 1974.

One scenario for Cambridgeshire will see it move to larger unitary authorities rather than the current two tier system of county and district councils. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is expected to remain unchanged.

Fears the change could see Fenland projects “lost” saw the district council agree to take “action now”.

One of the biggest objectives is to ensure the district’s leisure facilities are in the best shape financially and physically, so that their continued existence following any changes is assured – or as assured as it can be.

Much of the planned expenditure will come from borrowing, because of the need for speed due to the timescale of the local government proposals.

An officers report to the meeting explained the borrowing would add to the projected budgetary shortfalls in the coming years.

It also warned that the assumption the council would be abolished in 2028 is “still subjective” and councillors should consider the long-term financial stability of the council.

Cllr Boden admitted it was a big change in the way the district council has operated but said it was not unusual to have challenges and that Fenland Council is up to meeting those challenges.

Cllr Steve Tierney, who supported the budget, which was agreed unanimously at the meeting, said afterwards: “The Government's plans are pretty awful and will have massive effects on the whole area for many years to come, but it’s in their remit to do this and we have no say in it.

“The problem is, Fenland District Council has been very financially careful and managed taxpayers money very well for a long time. Other councils, some of them - not so much.

“We are likely to end up bunched with other councils who have vast debts and huge deficits which will eat up all our good financial work. But that good work and those good finances were paid for with the tax income from Fenland taxpayers. We don't want to see your money used to pay down debt you never had anything to do with.

“So before the Government amalgamates us into a gigantic remote monster council, Fenland Council is going full tilt to put things into good working order, build them up, improve them. This will make it much harder for a future super council to scrap them using various excuses.”