The council could spend millions of pounds on a police station, a home for travellers and road repairs over the next three years.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) last night outlined its budget plans to increase its borrowing to invest in projects such as £9m on road repairs.

The council’s draft budget for 2020/21 was approved ahead of a four-week consultation at Monday night’s Policy committee (December 16).

READ MORE: Reading Borough Council approves draft budget for consultation

Councillor Jason Brock, leader of the council, said: “It has taken quite a few years of a lot of hard work. We have struggled in the face of huge cuts but we have risen to that challenge and find ourselves in a position of financial stability.

“We still have less money than we had back in 2010 but having that platform of stability allows us to make investments.

“We are able to be a bit bolder. In particular, we want to deliver things that will benefit every resident.”

New spending proposals include a potential £5 million purchase of Reading Police Station, £450,000 on town centre improvements and £205,000 on town hall equipment in 2020/21.

Other spending plans proposed include £5.9 million on environmentally friendly replacement vehicles, £7.5 million on energy saving measures and £2.5 million to improve customer services.

RBC has also set aside £3.58 million in its 2022/23 budget for a permanent home for travellers but has not found a site yet.

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The draft budget also includes the food waste bin plans announced in September with an outlay of around £1.5 million to introduce the service and the new smaller bins for general waste.

£40 million for new leisure centres, including two long-awaited new pools, is also in the budget with more details expected next year on the progress in choosing a leisure provider.

How can the council afford all this spending?

The spending proposals are part of the council’s capital programme, funded by a combination of:

  • Successful bids for grants
  • Cheaper borrowing available to councils
  • Developer contributions
  • Infrastructure funding
  • Capital receipts from selling buildings

This pot of money cannot be used to fund day-to-day services or to balance the council’s revenue budget.

The council still must make £33.1 million of savings in the next three years to deliver a balanced budget despite being in a more stable position than previous years.

What happens next?

The proposal will go out to consultation this week before being agreed by the council which means it could look very different by February.

The consultation will last four weeks, ending on Sunday, January 19. Councillors will then vote on the plans on at full council on February 25.

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The budget could also be affected by government’s plans to finance local authorities, which are still unclear beyond next year.

Councillor Tony Page, deputy leader, said: “The problem is if the government decides to suddenly make cuts. We have no idea what the future government funding is going to be beyond this year.”

Cllr Brock added: “It is insane. We are asked to set a three-year strategy and every year they are changing the goalposts with very little warning.”