Council’s budget approved

Published22nd February 2018

Ipswich Borough Council has approved its budget plans.

At a meeting last night, the Administration pledged to invest in frontline services, including improvements to CCTV, fund new anti-gang crime initiatives, create a new homeless people’s unit, continue to build new council homes, invest in new toilets at the Regent Theatre and plan a major refurbishment of Chantry Park.

And this year the Borough will be the only council in Suffolk not to charge extra for brown bin collections.

Most Ipswich residents are set to pay around 15p a week more for their Borough Council services next year after the Council agreed a below inflation increase. The Borough’s share of the council tax bill that will be dropping on people’s mats in the next few weeks is about a fifth.

The County Council has approved an 88p a week increase and the Police & Crime Commissioner has chosen to implement an 18p a week rise.

Council Leader David Ellesmere said: “Providing services does cost money and with the cutting of government support we have benefitted not only from making substantial savings but also achieving an income from our Ipswich Borough Assets (IBA) property company. Without the decision to establish IBA to invest in a range of properties in the town we would have been faced with unprecedented cuts in services.”

Meanwhile, families of Ipswich children who die under 18 years of age will no longer have to pay a fee to the Council for their burial or cremation. At last night’s meeting, Ipswich Borough Councillors supported unanimously a bid to change its fees and now a formal decision will be taken by the ruling Executive Committee.