A typical household in South Lakeland looks set to pay an extra £14 this year to the district council to keep the authority on a firm financial footing and pay for kerbside recycling.

At the first budget meeting of South Lakeland District Council's cabinet, finance director Jack Jones said the authority needed to hike council tax bills by "at least seven per cent" to deliver services and allow modest growth.

But he urged councillors to consider a far steeper increase to start saving for the £420,000 that will be needed every year to run kerbside recycling across the district.

"Ignoring this will simply add to your problems," he said, adding that blame for this funding gap lay squarely at the door of Number 10. "The Government has set recycling targets for us and said to us as a council we have got to do it but they have not provided the money. The Government should have put its money where its mouth is."

Asked by The Westmorland Gazette what he predicted would be the likely Council Tax increase, Mr Jones agreed that 11 per cent was appropriate amounting to an extra £14 for a Band D property.

Upping SLDC's share of the Council Tax by 11 per cent would go half-way to meeting the £420,000 recycling costs by 2006 but another four per cent rise would still be required next year on top of what is needed for other council services. Failure to meet the Government recycling targets would result in penalties for SLDC.

SLDC chief executive Phillip Cunliffe acknowledged that the hike would be difficult to swallow given that many tax payers would be stumping-up for a service they will not see for another two years roughly the time it will take to roll-out kerbside recycling across the district.

"It's unavoidable but it won't be instant and it will be expensive," he warned.

The recycling costs are in addition to the inflation-busting seven per cent rise which Mr Jones said the council must consider because of shrinking Government grants allied to climbing costs including substantial increases in pension payments as a result of stock market downturns.

But his budget did not offer cash to turn-around a controversial cost-cutting policy to close about a third of SLDC's public toilets.

Instead Coun Bob Barker suggested setting up a partnership fund' so SLDC can offer financial support to parish councils or anyone else which chooses to take over their community convenience.

Councillors supported a Council Tax rise of at least seven per cent and the option of setting up a loo fund but will meet again on Wednesday to thrash out a final tax demand which will then go to full council on February 25.

February 7, 2003 09:00