The Council recently carried out a budget consultation which received many responses and helped shape our 2023/24 budget – thank you to everyone that took part. Inevitably, the consultation also raised some questions and concerns about the budget. Here, as Policy, Finance and Development Chair, I wanted to respond some of those questions and concerns...

Cllr Michael Charlesworth

Why is Council Tax more in Oadby & Wigston than Leicester City?

This is simply a misconception. Band D for 2022/23 in Oadby & Wigston was £2,025 per year and in the city it was £2,074. It may be that residents who have moved from the City were in lower bands but there is almost no difference in cost per band.

Oadby & Wigston's Council Tax is higher than other Councils in Leicestershire?

This is a very common and understandable question. Every other district or borough in Leicestershire has parish councils that charge residents for their services as a separate part of the council tax bill. Oadby & Wigston is unparished (i.e. residents aren't subject to a parish council charge on their bill) and the borough council essentially carries out the roles that parish councils would otherwise undertake.

When parish council charges are added to borough/district charges elsewhere in Leicestershire and compared to Oadby & Wigston, you'll actually discover that overall charges here are among the lowest in the county.

The consultation mentioned that £1.9m is to be spent on 6-8 houses in Horsewell Lane and this raised queries about the cost…

The consultation should have been clearer in explaining that £1.9m is for all housing projects coming up in the borough and not just for these 6-8 houses.

Should Oadby & Wigston spend over £500,000 on replacing end-of-life fleet vehicles?

Our fleet is maintained and serviced to a high standard and several vehicles are now costing a lot of money to keep on the road. These vehicles are used constantly and have done very well to have lasted as long as they have, but there comes a point when they have to be replaced. Our waste collection rounds for example are an absolutely critical service for our residents and we need fully operational, reliable vehicles to complete these.

Why can't we have free car parking in O&W? It is damaging the town centres.

When the Government stopped giving local authorities grants to balance their budgets, Oadby & Wigston Borough Council was faced with a dreadful dilemma - reduce services (such as weekly refuse collection) or raise income by charging. The council chose the latter, implementing a low-cost parking charge scheme across the borough, and although necessary, we understand why this was met with frustration. Combined with the rapid rise of online shopping and the impact of Covid-19, it is a tough time for town centres. However, evidence suggests many other town centres are faring much worse than ours and we continue to encourage local people to get behind our businesses by shopping locally.

To reduce the impact on residents and businesses, councillors insisted on a residents' permit scheme that costs from as little as £25 per year. More information on how to purchase these are on our permits webpage.

Find out more about our 23/24 budget by reading our announcement article after the budget was approved.