Lord Mayor - The Council’s finances remain tight.
The cost of inflation means the cost of providing our services is increasing by more than we are receiving in additional funding from central government.
The Council is also receiving less income than expected.
As a result, the Council needs to either reduce its costs by making efficiencies and/or cutting the services it provides, or it can increase the fees and charges on services that it provides.
By law, the Council must deliver a balanced budget where there is enough funding available to cover all its costs.
For the 2024/25 financial year, we have identified proposals to reduce the budget or generate additional income totalling £1.4m.
Much of this will come from changes in our back office functions or the way we deliver services.
But there are some choices that may affect the way services are delivered to the public and unfortunately this is unavoidable.
The bigger challenge for the Council comes in 2025/2026, when £3.8m of additional income or reduction from services is required.
This will require a significant review of the services we provide, and we will consult with our residents and communities to ensure their voice is heard ahead of making any decisions.
I shall be paying particular attention to our Capital budget over the forthcoming years.
As we know this is an important element of what we do. But we have had to scale it back significantly because of the cost of borrowing.
We are in the main only dealing with health and safety issues, but of course situations arise that we need to deal with, and we need to build in capacity if possible.
We have 28 bridges, one Roman Wall, a river and a canal as assets.
Funding for these types of assets is provided to other public bodies and the cost of maintaining and enhancing them are not included in our funding.
As a result, they have a disproportionate impact on our costs, and with high interest rates, the costs of borrowing are very high and require even further reductions to our services.
Exeter is certainly not alone in facing these challenges.
They are being faced by every local authority in the country in the current financial climate, and everyone will be well aware of the high-profile cases of Councils reporting severe financial difficulties.
Fortunately, that is not a position that Exeter finds itself in.
Despite all of the challenges Exeter continues to be a successful and prosperous city which is performing well and has much to look forward to in the years ahead.
So before I set out the details of our balanced budget, I’d to like to take a few moments to highlight how we are delivering on our five key strategic priorities.
These are:
- A prosperous local economy
- A healthy and active city
- Housing and building great neighbourhoods and communities
- Net Zero Carbon City
- Thriving culture and heritage
We continue to be successful in supporting a prosperous local economy.
Exeter is one of the best performing cities in the country for economic growth.
A summary of findings from the Centre for Cities report, Cities Outlook 2024, shows Exeter:
- Has the third lowest claimant count in the country
- The fifth lowest level of residents with no formal qualifications in the country
- And the fifth highest housing stock growth
Exeter is among the top 10 - out of 63 UK cities - for:
- Low claimant count
- Population growth between 2012-2022
- Low levels of residents with no formal qualifications
- Housing stock growth
- Public-funded services jobs
- New economy firms
We continue to collaborate with our key partners like the University of Exeter, who recently opened a new Innovation Hub in Exeter city centre aimed at supporting businesses and entrepreneurs.
It harnesses the university’s world-leading research and education, working in partnership with organisations of all types and sizes to create a greener, healthier and fairer future.
Last year the Council successfully integrated the Guildhall Shopping Centre into its portfolio of properties.
We are continuing to develop its offer in recognition of the contribution it makes to city centre vitality.
It even became one of the first locations in the country for the popular return of Wilcos.
Footfall in the city centre remains healthy and we continue to work with partners like InExeter - the Business Improvement District - on a range of new initiatives to ensure its continued vitality.
Work has now commenced to demolish the former Exeter Bus Station – a building I know very well.
Clearing this site will remove an eyesore and also paves the way for significant future redevelopment at the site.
Safety in the city centre is paramount, and I’m pleased to say we have completed the modernisation of our CCTV operation and increased coverage in parts of the city.
This includes 180 new high-definition cameras installed in 80 locations across the city.
We continue to talk to the business community about the impact of car parking charges on the city centre.
There will be a 5% inflationary increase from this autumn.
As Sunday is the quietest day, we will review Sunday parking charges to encourage shoppers and visitors to visit the city centre on this day.
We will review Thursday evening charging, to support late night shopping.
Also under review is introducing the one hour charge for Zone 1 car parks, to support the business community for shoppers picking up/dropping off parcels and for appointments.
Again this shows we are listening, and why it is important to consider all car parking charges very carefully.
A healthy and active city is our second strategic priority.
It has been another successful year for the Council’s Leisure service, which has almost 11,000 members in the city.
St Sidwell’s Point continues to win awards and recently celebrated its two millionth visit – an incredible achievement just 18 months after opening.
Our Leisure App has now been downloaded more than 58,000 times.
Our GP Referral scheme is extremely popular and currently running at full capacity.
Adult swim lessons are fully booked at Sidwell’s Point.
We are at the forefront of developing new sports like Pickleball, with more than 250 people making around 1,500 bookings at Wonford and Riverside in the first six months.
A significant amount of work has taken place over the last year to reduce the cost of delivering the Leisure service, from £3.8m to £2.2m.
Further cost reductions proposed for 2024/25 and are on track to be achieved.
It is fantastic that Exeter has been announced as a host city for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.
Momentum will now start to build ahead of the tournament next year, and there will be huge drive to grow the women’s and girl’s game around the city, which I very much welcome.
Being active is important for the health and wellbeing of our communities.
We continue our partnership with Sport England, through our Live and Move programme, to help those facing the most barriers to being active every day.
The team have been working closely with Inclusive Exeter to deliver a programme of activities from our culturally diverse communities.
Inclusive Exeter’s summer festival attracted more than 600 residents to Wonford, and significant National Lottery has been secured for the next three years.
Work continues with trustees at Wonford Community Centre, and we hope to be able to submit a planning application this summer.
Our third strategic priority is housing and building great neighbourhoods and communities.
I am so pleased that our award-winning Extra Care facility Edwards Court is fully operational and occupied.
This really is a fantastic facility and I delighted that it has become so popular with the residents who live there.
Last year we successfully let more than 300 homes via Devon Home Choice.
We recently introduced a Tenants’ Portal providing 24-hour access to services.
Our Housing Team has also recently introduced:
- A leaseholders’ voice group
- A tenants’ group to review housing performance and complaints
- A new Council Housing Strategy
- A new Tenancy Strategy and Policy
We also continued to deliver against the Homelessness Strategy Action Plan.
We delivered match funding and secured 13 new homes via the Local Authority Housing Fund for Afghan and Ukrainian families displaced through conflict.
The wider roll-out of the retrofit programme for all Council housing continues.
Approximately 700 properties have been completed and £4.1m grant funding secured to date.
Our retrofit programme has been recognised with several top awards during 2023 and it is great to receive this national recognition.
The safety and wellbeing of our tenants and leaseholders is paramount.
Working closely with our contractors we have checked more than 7,800 smoke detectors, more than 5,600 carbon monoxide detectors, and inspected and serviced more than 4,500 gas boilers.
Our target for affordable housing is to deliver 500 properties over the next 10 years.
Progress is currently being made on site for 21 Passivhaus flats at Hamlin Gardens.
The Planning team recently completed widespread public consultation on a full draft of our local plan - the Exeter Plan - and further consultation will take place later this year.
Our Land Charges service was nominated again for best customer service in the National Land Information Service national awards.
And our Building Control service was nominated for best team in the Local Authority Building Control national awards.
Our CIL team has overseen the approval and implementation of a revised CIL charging schedule following consultation.
We continue to support our residents and communities through the cost of living crisis.
The Council has been using its Household Support Fund allocation of £675,706 for 2023-24 to deliver support to low-income residents struggling with the cost of living.
Last summer direct awards were made to 1,759 households, totalling £312,700.
The remaining funding is being distributed via an application scheme which will run until the end of March or until all funds have been spent.
So far a further £220,000 has been awarded to 1,100 low-income households.
The remaining Economic Vulnerability Fund is providing immediate relief to people who have become financially vulnerable in the cost of living crisis.
Almost £30,000 has been distributed to more than 350 vulnerable households since April 2023.
The Council Tax Support Fund Scheme 2023-24 has helped those residents who get local Council Tax support but still have a balance of Council Tax to pay for 2023-24.
More than 6,227 households have received help and our priority is to ensure that all the funding is used by 31 March 2024.
The Exeter Community Grants Programme for 2024/2025 was recently agreed by Executive.
I am so pleased that the Council has allocated £275,563 to fund the new core Wellbeing Exeter programme in 2024/2025, allowing this fantastic organisation to continue its crucial work in Exeter.
Our grants programme has injected more than £880,000 into the community over the last four years – an incredible achievement.
We continue to support communities by providing fantastic facilities for residents to enjoy for free.
We have a rolling programme of playground improved which has proved extremely popular with parents of young children.
The refurbishment of Exeter’s water play in parks across the city is ongoing.
The Splash pad at St Thomas has been refurbished and we invested in a new surface to ensure that it will be operational for years come.
This year will see the start of the Heavitree pool development. The project is out to tender now and will be awarded by the end of February.
There will be a second consultation so that the community can inform what the final design of the water play area will be, and then works will start later in the year.
A large part of the Council’s additional £140,000 recently announced by Government will go towards improvements in the public realm, which are so important.
Under consideration are a number of improvements including new entrance signage to our parks and green spaces, biodiversity projects like a major bulb-planting programme to enhance our wildflowers, an uplift to small play areas and anti-littering signage in partnership with local schools.
These are just a few of the projects currently being considered, and we look forward to developing these ideas more fully.
Achieving a Net Zero Carbon City remains another key strategic priority.
We led on the development and installation of the new £3.5m Water Lane Smart Grid and Storage Project, the first of its kind in the region.
The project now powers our electric fleet of vehicles, the recycling centre and offices with green energy.
Battery storage was also installed at other existing Council solar PV sites at The Matford Centre and John Lewis Car Park, and a 120kW solar PV array and battery store at the Riverside Leisure Centre.
The cost savings over all sites included in the project are estimated to be £256,000 per annum.
We now generate large amounts of renewable energy across 13 sites in the city.
As well as cutting carbon emissions and helping towards Net Zero Carbon, this increases energy security and provides protection against future price increases, with savings helping to support Council services.
We have continued the rollout of the food waste collection service, distributing 44,000 caddies enabling 22,000 households to be part of the scheme.
Between April and December 2023, more than 1,000 tonnes of food waste was diverted away from residual waste to anaerobic digestion, where it ends up as a soil improver and fertiliser.
The rest of the city will be rolled out once we complete the works necessary to handle the large quantities of food waste we will be collecting.
Work to manage and support the growth of Exeter’s tree scape and canopy cover has been ongoing.
Exeter’s current canopy cover is over 20% and above the national average.
Over the course of 2023 we planted 107 trees across the city’s open spaces to extend that cover.
Work to increase biodiversity at Northbrook Park is well underway.
Our partners Devon Wildlife Trust have already planted 50 trees for a community orchard, alongside 3,800 native bulbs and 400 native hedgerow whips, with a further 500 planned for later in the year.
We made a commitment to protect this important green space and increase biodiversity, and I am very proud that we have been able to do so.
Talking of green space, I need to mention allotments.
Allotments are a great asset to our city and loved by our residents.
Over the last few weeks we have been consulting directly with allotment holders on ways to enable the service to be self-funding.
This has generated many alternative suggestions to balance the allotment budget. We will be working these through in detail.
We are listening to what people say, and it is clear that consultation should continue.
So I can announce that we are extending it for a further three weeks, until Friday 15 March.
We will fully and carefully evaluate all the replies and respond to allotment holders with our proposals.
I can also announce that if there does need to be an increase in charges, it would be phased in over two years.
We will use unallocated funds to cover any shortfall in the budget.
This demonstrates that we have listened to what our allotment holders are telling us, and I very much welcome all the comments and suggestions that have been made so far.
Our final strategic priority is thriving culture and heritage.
Culture continues to be very important for the city and even in difficult times we continue to fund facilities that add both to quality of life and the economic prosperity of the city.
The number of ticketed shows at the Corn Exchange, and the number of tickets sold, both reached an all-time record high in 2023.
Overall income earned at the Corn Exchange was close to £1 million, the highest ever achieved.
The popularity of the Corn Exchange is clear and obvious and we are very proud of our venue.
That’s why I am happy to announce tonight our intention to allocate £50,000 to install a new lift at the Corn Exchange.
This is a much-needed improvement which will be welcomed by users.
2024 is Exeter’s fifth year as a UNESCO designated City of Literature.
The city is now home of five Arts Council National Portfolio Organisations - Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Northcott, RAMM, Libraries Unlimited and UNESCO City of Literature.
They are the cornerstone of Exeter’s cultural life and are very much valued by our residents.
Recent research has shown that RAMM helps bring in at least £5m annually to the local economy.
Welcoming more than 200,000 visitors a year, the museum plays a key role in attracting people to the city centre.
It provides an important civic space, a place where people can come for connection with their shared history and each other.
As the cost of living crisis continues it remains a place where parents can educate and entertain their children for free.
These discretionary services are not something that we have to provide – we choose to do so because of the difference they make to quality of life in Exeter.
Delivering the key strategic priorities I have highlighted relies on ensuring we have a well-run Council.
Our new Customer Service Strategy will enhance how we serve and interact with our residents and was adopted following public consultation.
The aim is to transform our services to be more accessible, efficient and focussed in ways that meet the expectations of our customers.
Our internal One Exeter programme is transforming the way our staff work. Recent highlights include:
- A new Green Travel Plan
- Employee Wellbeing Support
- Staff support groups
- A Values and Behaviours Framework
- Performance and Development Reviews for all staff
For some time now we have known that the Civic Centre is costly to run and not necessarily the most suitable space for the Council going forward.
We have let office space in Phase One which has generated an income.
I instructed our officers to draw up plans for alternative accommodation options to the Civic Centre, which maintain a city centre presence, but make better use of our existing assets.
Outline plans have been drawn up and a project team is being set up to ensure all the Council’s needs are met.
I will expect to be able to reveal more details of this in the near future.
We are also in the process of carrying out a Senior Management Restructure.
This will ensure we can deliver our priorities, implement our ambitious transformation programme, provide an excellent customer experience and lead a well-run Council.
In summary, we are transforming the way we work - I want to thank everyone involved in this process, and all our staff, for their continued hard work and dedication.
As I have outlined, we continue to deliver our strategic priorities and continue to shape, together with our partners, a great city with a fantastic quality of life.
Despite all the financial restrictions imposed on us by central government, our residents can rest assured that we will continue to do so.
Lord Mayor, I now come on to the details of the Budget itself.
The cost-of-living crisis has been a challenge for all our residents and businesses in our city. Faced with the highest taxation burden for decades, increase in fuel prices and utility bills, increase in our shopping bills and of course mortgage and rents.
We have suffered an increase in inflation with over 15% increase over the last two years, yet household incomes have not match this, inflation has thankfully reduced but those price increases are now baked into all our costs going forward.
I propose the recommendations set out in the papers before you in terms of the approval of both the revenue estimates and capital programme for the year 2024/25, which will result in the setting of a District Council tax of £180.37 for a Band D property.
This is an increase of £5.24 a year for a Band D property - around 10p a week. Again, well below the rate of inflation for this year.
The Band D Council Tax will be split as follows:
- Exeter City Council £ 180.37
- Devon County Council £1,468.08
- Devon County Council - Adult Social Care £ 247.59
- Devon & Cornwall Police £ 274.50
- Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue £ 99.68
Making a total bill for a Band D property £2,270.22