Ashby-based councillor Nick Rushton says he is 'proud' of the North West Leicestershire District Council which was approved at its meeting last night (Thursday).

The council says it is a balanced budget, which has reduced its predicted funding gap by almost £2 million.

It was also confirmed that a planned cut to a £1,500 grant to Ashby Museum would not now go ahead - more details on this are in today's Ashby Nub News newsletter.

But a Labour motion to amend the budget - which included opposition to £22,000 worth of cuts to Age UK funding in the district - was defeated.

It means there will be an increase in the District Council section of people's council tax of 2.75 per cent.

The council says work to reduce costs and increase income has seen a predicted gap in the council's budget reduce to £2 million by 2028/29.

Previous predictions had set this gap at just over £4million.

But the authority added that work to improve efficiency at the council, as well as increasing income and reducing outgoings has resulted in a more positive financial outlook.

 The Budget included:

• Council tax increase
• The NWLDC part of the council tax bill will increase by 2.75 per cent. This means most households in the district will pay an extra £4.36 a year or less for district council services, including street cleansing, waste collection, parks and leisure. The total bill is likely to increase by more than this as other authorities (county council, police, fire and parish councils) increase their parts of the bill.
• Increase in charges for services
• Charges for some of its services – like trade waste collections and sports pitch hire – will increase by seven per cent.
• Reduction or removal of some grant funding
• Grant funding to a number of organisations will be removed gradually over a number of years to help balance the council's budget at the point when the gap is predicted to increase.
• External funding invested across the district
• UK Shared Prosperity Funding worth £1.2 million is to be spent on a number of projects – structural work to Moira Furnace and enhancing the visitor experience, a quiet-way in Kegworth, a new business space in Coalville and supporting the National Forest's 'Heart of the Forest' work.
• One-off capital money used to invest to save
• The council says it will invest one-off money to support longer-term money-saving or income-generating work. E.g. £150,000 will be spent to demolish the former Council Offices, removing the cost of maintaining and securing the empty building and freeing up the land for sale. Another £500,000 is earmarked for projects that will save the council money in the longer term, helping to close the budget gap in future years.

Cllr Rushton, Corporate Portfolio Holder for NWLDC, said: "In these times of financial uncertainty and difficulty for many councils up and down the country, I'm incredibly proud of the work that officers and members at this council have done – not only to put together a balanced budget for the coming year, but to reduce the predicted gap in our budget for the future.

"We're making difficult decisions, but we're doing it whilst listening to people's views – whether that's the public or our elected members – and whilst making sure we can still invest in our priority areas.

"We're committed to growing our district in a sustainable way, to taking care of our environment, to keeping our communities safe and looking after our tenants, and - importantly – to being a well-run council. Our finances are in good order and we're always looking for ways to make sure we're providing value for money."