‘A greener, cleaner, safer city’: Hull Lib Dems announce budget proposals
‘THESE ARE THE PEOPLE’S PRIORITIES’: City council leader Mike Ross
By Simon Bristow
Hull City Council’s ruling Liberal Democrat group has announced plans to create a “greener, cleaner, and safer city” with its budget proposals for 2023/24.
The budget, which will be debated and voted on at a meeting of the full council on February 23, also includes a proposed council tax increase of 4.99 per cent, which includes a two per cent social care precept.
The proposals, announced today, also include some flagship schemes, including:
A new £1.5m High Streets Support Fund, to “support a range of measures to improve the look and feel of our community high streets, to give confidence to shoppers and local traders and make them a great place for start-up businesses to invest and grow”
A £1m Spring Clean programme, to deliver “a thorough clean-up of the fabric of local neighbourhoods that residents have been calling for. Fixing broken streets and signage, mending potholes and removing dirt and mess that’s built up over time”
A doubling of the Crime Prevention Fund to £500,000
£100,000 for new “Pocket Parks”, to create new community facilities in the heart of local neighbourhoods. The budget “will help to give communities somewhere they can enjoy with their family, near to them, and where they want it”.
City council leader, Councillor Mike Ross, said: “This year's budget is about making the people’s priorities of a cleaner, greener and safer city a reality.
“The proposed budget also includes continuing the commitment to supporting the people of Hull through the cost of living crisis – providing ongoing support to local food banks and supporting a network of warm spaces so people don’t have to choose between heating and eating.”
The proposals will be presented to the council’s Finance and Value for Money Overview and Scrutiny on February 10 ahead of the Full Council meeting when a final decision will be made on the budget.
Specific consultation will take place with representatives from the business community, voluntary sector, youth representatives and the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board, the council said.
Coun Ross said: “I said when I came into this role that I want this to be a listening council and I meant it. This budget continues my mission of putting the views and priorities of the people who live and work here at the heart of everything the council does.
“This budget understands the need to support Hull’s residents when there is a cost of living crisis, building on the support already in place through warm spaces, additional support for food banks and directly to families during the holidays.
“This is a budget that will help clean up Hull’s streets. It will see local neighbourhoods across the city get the sort of genuine clean-up they have long needed, to keep those communities cleaner and greener well into the future. This is a budget that will see more investment in crime prevention, working with communities to tackle problems in our area in the way they want to see it done.
“This is a budget that will see our vital community high streets improved – so it’s a budget for the whole of the city, not just certain parts.”
He added: “I want Hull to be a greener, cleaner and safer city, and want the council to support the people who need the help the most. This is the vision at the heart of this budget.”
Councillor Jackie Dad, deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance, said: “Everyone knows that the cost of everything is rising and the Government is giving less and less funding to Hull City Council. In these circumstances, we need to make every penny count and make sure local residents get the vital services they deserve. That’s why this budget protects council services and invests in the people’s priorities.”