Alternative Budget options proposed for SLDC

21 February2013

The Shadow Cabinet at South Lakeland District Council will be presenting a number of alternative budget proposals at Full Council on Thursday 28 February.

One of the proposals to be considered is a project that would look at increasing the size of car parks where demand regularly exceeds supply.  The suggestion is for the project to be part of the Capital Prioritisation process, as estimates show that for a capital investment of £3.5m, at popular well used car parks could be expanded creating additional revenue of £261,000 per year.  This will pay back the initial investment over a 13 year period.   

Another proposal is to look at launching a Local Authority Mortgage Scheme to help first time buyers have access to 95% mortgages to try and kick start the housing market.  The recommendation is for SLDC to invest £1m with mortgage lenders and the council would receive either a premium per agreed mortgage or a favourable interest rate on any cash held by lenders.  This should cover the cost of any defaults so the scheme should be cost neutral in revenue terms.

The economy in South Lakeland is also focused on with a suggestion of the council working more closely with the business sector and having late night shopping coupled with an evening summer market in busy towns across the district.  A further proposal is to liaise with Town and Parish councils about car parking.  Instead of having the usual free Sundays on the run up to Christmas, they would look for the council to liaise with local businesses and communities to find out when they would prefer to offer free parking days in their area. 

Full Council starts at 6.30pm on Thursday 28 February and members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and hear the alternative budget proposals being debated and discussed. 

The full agenda including all the details is available on the SLDC website.