A council tax rise of 4.9% has been recommended to Derbyshire Dales district councillors for approval on 10 March 2008.

The average council tax bill for Derbyshire Dales District Council will increase to £177.28, an increase of £8.35 per year, or just 16p per week per household.

The remaining council tax, although collected by the District Council, goes to Derbyshire County Council, the Police Authority, Fire Authority and Parish and Town Councils. Derbyshire County Council have increased their Council Tax by 3.5%, the Police by 4.6% and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue by 4%. Residents will see their total council tax bill increase by 3.9%, which is just below the current inflation rate of  4.1%*.

Budget Savings
In order to keep its council tax increase as low as possible, Derbyshire Dales District Council is targeting budget savings of over £1 million over the current year. This has resulted in 29 job losses, mainly through non-filling vacant posts and voluntary redundancies, although some compulsory redundancies will be necessary. Savings have been targeted at the “back office” in order to protect front line services to the public.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Lewis Rose OBE said: “These savings are necessary because the District Council has again received an extremely disappointing Government grant. The Derbyshire Dales Government grant has been worse than any other Derbyshire district for several years running. The grant to the District Council has only gone up by 1.0%, which is a real-terms cut of 3.1%, and is going up by just 0.5% in each of the next two years. This means we will have to find further savings next year to achieve a balanced budget. Our grant is now £2.1million less than the next lowest Derbyshire district.”

Improved services
Derbyshire Dales District Council achieved this council tax reduction while still improving local services in the areas residents tell us are their priorities. These include: 

· providing 434 new affordable homes since 2003
· 240 empty/unfit private properties have been brought back into use
· opening skate parks in Ashbourne and Matlock, and a brand new leisure centre in Ashbourne
· giving more than 11,000 youngsters sports coaching and increasing visits to leisure facilities by 33%
· increasing recycling and composting in line with our green targets to 40%, from 16% in 2003 - one  of the best records nationally
· improved 13 car parks to the Park Mark (safer parking) standard, helping to reduce vehicle theft in the district to the second lowest in England and Wales
· completely re-invigorating Hall Leys Park in Matlock, along with Pic Tor, Derwent Gardens and Lovers Walks.
· enabling the Cawdor Quarry and Sainsbury’s redevelopment in Matlock
· 96% of services can now be transacted on our website 

Looking at the year ahead the District Council’s budget and service plans take account of the low Government grant. The proposals are also based on consultation with residents and businesses which were carried out over the past year.

For the next 12 months revenue spending is estimated to be £9,930,425. This is a 2.3% increase on last year. However, resources have been shifted to concentrate on residents’ top priority areas such as affordable housing. Our priorities, along with six key target areas for next year are:
1 Affordable, decent housing Affordable homesDecent homes
2 Safe communities Environmental crime
3 Street scene Cleaner streets
4 Active, healthy communities Central Area Leisure CentreEncouraging healthy lifestyles



The District Council’s £5.5 million capital investment programme for the coming year includes:
· £1.95 million for the new Central Area Leisure Centre
· £650,000 for housing initiatives, including improvement grants, house surveys and the Private Rented Initiative.
· £370,000 for playground improvements in Ashbourne and Bakewell.
· £160,000 for the Matlock Parks Project
· £90,000 for repairs to sewers and small sewerage works.
· £60,000 for Central Corridor economic regeneration initiatives,.
· £300,000 for improvements at Bakewell Agricultural Business Centre
· £150,000 for improvements to car parks throughout the District
· £125,000 for grants to village halls and community centres.
· £25,000 for a Rural Accessibility Study.

Cllr Rose added: “Despite difficult budget challenges we have continued to prioritise what is important for local people, such as providing more affordable homes and improving leisure and other facilities for young people.

“Over the last four years, in spite of a shrinking Government grant to the Derbyshire Dales, the District Council has worked hard to become more cost-effective. As a result, we continue to provide more for less. Our total expenditure is below average for district councils. But we have improved services to local residents and are now one of the best performing councils in the country. To do all this and only asking about £3.40 per week per household is, I believe, excellent value for money.”

* All items Retail Prices Index (RPI) January 2008.