Recycling centre closures as council signs off budget

A council has signed off its budget with cuts of up to £30m planned, including the temporary closure of three household waste recycling centres.

Cheshire East Council will also increase its council tax of just under 5%.

Centres in Bollington, Middlewich and Poynton are set to close from 1 April ahead of a new household waste strategy being prepared, with councillors told a mobile household waste recycling service was set to be trialled.

Leader of the council, Labour's Sam Corcoran, said it was a "significant achievement" to set a legally balanced budget.

Forty-three councillors voted for the budget, with 32 voting against and three abstaining.

Mr Corcoran said: "No council leader wants to put up council tax particularly during a cost of living crisis as people are struggling with increased prices and high interest rates, but those factors impact councils too."

He added the 2023/24 budget was "blown off course by inflation" and said that transformation was required.

"That's the challenge for the year ahead."

Councillor Craig Browne, deputy leader and leader of the Independent group, said it was one of the "most challenging periods in which this council has operated".

He said the council raised £150m in business rates but only gets to keep £50m of that as the remainder goes to the government.

He said if the council did have that £100m it would cover the projected growth in spending and demand for services.

Mr Browne also spoke about a public consultation on the budget.

"While the consultation isn't a referendum and we're not in a position to be all things to all people, we can say we've listened," he said.

He also said some other ideas mentioned in the consultation process - including cuts to bus subsidiaries and an idea to move to three weekly black bin collections - would not be considered due to those responses.

Janet Clowes, the leader of the Conservative group said these were "difficult fiscal times".

She said the three reasons for this were inflation, interest rates and unexpected events such as the cancellation of HS2 and said most of the problems were linked to national or global events that all governments were "struggling to address".

She also highlighted comments from the outgoing director of finance who raised concerns about the reserves strategy, and spoke about a proposal to charge town and parish councils costs of running by-elections.

"I believe this is a backwards step for democracy," she said.

"Bearing in mind how many services are being devolved to town and parish councils this is a poorly thought out idea."

The meeting also included the election of a new deputy leader, after Mr Browne announced he would be standing down from the role.

Councillor Michael Gorman, who represents Wilmslow West and Chorley, will take up the position on 1 March.

Mr Browne, who is taking up a position as a chief executive of a charity, will remain as a ward councillor for Alderley Edge.

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