Background – the ‘good times’
St Edmundsbury has prioritised economic development through our focus on attracting inward investment, tourism, support for small businesses and working to ensure the appropriate infrastructure is in place (including affordable housing). Our long-term Vision 2025 (developed with a wide range of public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders) gives us a clear framework and protecting the economy is at its heart. Allied to this is our strong drive for efficiency savings (including £3.5 million off our revenue budget) and political emphasis on minimising Council Tax rises.
St Edmundsbury’s economy currently remains relatively strong, although there are some signs of a slowdown.
Trends
- Trends in budgeted income for services such as building control, development control and land charges searches are all down – a clear link to the housing and development market.
- There is an upward trend in the numbers of people seeking housing benefit (especially among people of working age), and approaching us for housing advice. There are also delays in some new housing developments.
- The Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill street markets retain their vitality – income is holding steady, with strong interest from potential stallholders. We had a record-breaking Christmas Fayre in 2008, which the Chamber of Commerce estimates led to a 15% uptake among town retailers.
- Collection of business rates (National Non Domestic Rates) is below target although collection of Council Tax does not show any downward trend.
- There are increasing numbers at free facilities, such as play areas and parks, but fewer visitors paying for attractions and events (with a trend towards cash instead of credit cards) and fewer customers at our public halls.
- We closely monitor car parking income (giving an indication of the numbers of visitors/shoppers) and this is currently above budget, but with a trend from short stay to cheaper long stay which could have an impact on future income.
Support – the ‘bad times’
St Edmundsbury has a good record of attracting external funding to the borough and targeting it appropriately. One example is funding of £1.7 million, taken from the Government’s business rates income, which rewards local authorities with strong economic growth. Although there is no requirement to spend it on the local economy or on any specific services, St Edmundsbury chooses to use it to support further economic growth.
Recent funds have been targeted at schemes to boost local business such as:
- bursaries and training initiatives to help businesses increase skills levels;
- tourism, business and town centre marketing, including contributions to Christmas lights, signs and a New Business Competition;
- town centre management in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill;
- grants to improve shop fronts;
- updating and improving small business units;
- encouragement for larger employers to implement green travel plans.
Other support mechanisms are in place now (or soon will be). Some of these are funded by St Edmundsbury, others are due to securing external funding, such as:
- paying invoices from small businesses within 20 days;
- helping Citizens Advice Bureaux on debt advice to prevent homelessness;
- grants to low income households to bring homes up to a decent standard;
- free products and grants for low income households to improve energy efficiency and help with fuel poverty;
- special offers for events and activities, such as ‘4 for the price of 3’;
- regular and clear communication about ways to save money, availability of grants, benefits and advice;
- extensive capital support to kickstart local projects and regeneration in rural and town areas;
- housing advice and financial help, including alternatives to social housing;
- funding for heritage project aimed at people in areas of deprivation;
- grants for village facilities such as shops, pubs, post offices and village halls;
- knowledgeable economic development team to provide advice to businesses on issues such as land availability, funding, start-ups and business plans;
- Government's VAT reductions have been passed on where economic to do so.
In addition to the above, St Edmundsbury’s Cabinet is recommending to the full council that, despite high inflation levels, we will freeze Council Tax at its current level next year which will directly benefit all Council Tax payers in the borough.
The future
While St Edmundsbury’s background in protecting the vitality and viability of the local economy gives us a strong foundation, we cannot completely ‘future-proof’ our services as we do not know for sure what lies ahead. We anticipate ongoing revenue savings when we move to the new, more energy-efficient, West Suffolk House in April (through sharing facilities and some services with Suffolk County Council). This will help to mitigate some of the factors below which could affect our income and subsequent ability to fund support measures:
- uncertainty about interest rates, which directly affects our interest income;
- customers’ decisions about where they spend their money, resulting in lower leisure, parking or other income;
- customer ability to pay Council Tax and business rates
- business tenants stopping trading and vacating council-owned property, leading to loss of commercial income and increased maintenance costs;
- unpredictable increases in utility and vehicle fuel costs;
- commercial property market downturn, affecting our property sales;
- downturn in the housing market will affect income from planning, development control, building control and land charges services.
