Brentwood Borough Council approved a balanced budget and set its Council Tax for the next financial year at Full Council this week (Wednesday 28 February).
To maintain and further invest in its services, the Council agreed to increase the Brentwood Borough Council element of Council Tax by 2.99% for 2024/25. This means the charge of a Band D property increases by £6.12 a year to £210.70 per annum for Brentwood Borough Council services. This increase is largely in line with District councils across Essex.
A programme of investment in council services was also agreed, including:
- A new team to tackle fly tipping
- A comprehensive tree survey across the borough
- Piloting the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel in the Council’s vehicles
- A new Brentwood Borough Council Magazine to improve communication with residents
- Free Sunday car parking in William Hunter Way, Chatham Way, Multi-Storey Car Park and Town Hall Car Parks and a free 3–hour parking limit at the Shenfield Car Parks.
The agreed budget also reinforced the Council’s commitment to delivering a cinema, leisure, food and retail package at the Baytree Centre and continued investment in improving our social housing stock and building new social housing.
Councillor David Kendall, Brentwood Borough Council’s Chair of the Finance, Assets, Investment & Recovery Committee said: “Against a challenging financial landscape for local government, this budget brings much needed stability to the Borough Council’s finances and shows a clear understanding of the challenges facing the Council, our residents and the business community.
“Although we are operating under difficult financial pressures we have invested in schemes across the Borough and taken steps to reduce the Council’s debt. Our clear message to residents is that Brentwood Borough Council’s finances remain safe and we will continue to invest in the services that are important to them.”
For more information on the Council's budget for 2024/25 visit: https://brentwood.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=2424