Media release: Cheltenham Borough Council approves budget to continue investment in local economic growth and work towards carbon net zero targets

Cheltenham Borough Council met today (Friday 23 February) to agree the budget for the financial year beginning on 1 April 2024. This follows a period of consultation between 20 December and 26 January where views and feedback were sought from residents, businesses and the community and voluntary sector.  

Despite the financial challenges facing local authorities nationally, the proposals reinforce the council’s commitment to shaping and improving public services and enabling strong economic growth and development for the town, whilst ensuring resources are available to continue to support its businesses and communities. Over the last ten years the council has implemented successful commercial strategies which have meant local services have been protected and the proposals for 2024/25 are no different.  

These include:

• Continued financial commitment to the Golden Valley Development in West Cheltenham to realise the council’s flagship ambition to make Cheltenham the Cyber Capital of the UK. This includes creating a national centre of excellence for the cyber sector and wider tech industries that will be an engine-room for long-term inclusive growth for Cheltenham following the provisional award of £20m of Levelling Up funding
• Transitioning the council’s housing service back in-house following the recent consultation on its tenant and leaseholder offer
• The delivery of infrastructure and planned maintenance projects to support the reduction of the carbon footprint of both the council and the town by 2030. This includes introducing 44 new electric vehicle charging points across our car parks, as part of the first phase of a wider strategic plan to provide EV charging across the Borough which is scheduled to be operating by Autumn 2024
• Commitment to supporting the town centre economy following the recent announcement in 2022 of the £5.8m investment package for the High Street and the Minister Exchange which will be completed in spring 2024

Cllr Peter Jeffries, cabinet member for finance and assets, said: “Over the last two years the council has continued to demonstrate its commitment to supporting our residents, investing in our town and putting Cheltenham first, despite the financial uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

“It is inevitable that the pressures we’ve faced has meant that we need to continue to deliver savings and efficiencies and protect core services for our residents. In 2024/25 we need to deliver another challenging savings strategy to balance our budget as demand for services increases and Government funding is still outpaced by rising costs. Continued investment in programmes like Golden Valley Development  in West Cheltenham will provide economic growth which will not just benefit our council finances but will deliver positive outcomes for all in Cheltenham.”

Residents, businesses and all partners can view the full council report, online at www.cheltenham.gov.uk/budget