Leader's blog - Wednesday 6 March
Highlights
Our budget for 2024/25 has been agreed and includes £15.9m of savings and the use of over £6.8m reserves
Consultation on the action for MetroGreen (the area around the Metrocentre) is now open - give your views by 7 April
Work, which will require the Tyne Bridge being reduced to one lane in both directions, will start in April
Elections will take place this year for your local councillor, a new Police and Crime Commissioner, a Mayor for the North East Combined Authority and a general election will also take place within the year. You need to be registered to vote.
Transcript
Thank you very much for taking the time to listen to this broadcast.
First thing I want to cover, very briefly, is the budget for next year, 2024/25. We live in challenging times. Grant from Central Government has been cut by over 60% to Gateshead Council, we have £197m less to operate our budgets than we had in 2010, that is about £1,000 less to spend per resident. So the challenge in achieving a balanced budget is extremely difficult. We have a budget, which will not require any compulsory redundancies, we are carefully planning a series of service reductions and cuts which we have planned and can implement without the necessity for redundancies.
We are also again this year coming up, as we have this year, we are planning to use reserves to plug the gap. This is not sustainable, it gives us time to make the necessary changes so it will mean some difficult decisions going forward but we have a balanced budget, there will be no redundancies and we will plan for future budgets.
The second thing I'd like to cover, briefly, is the issue of MetroGreen. We are carrying out a public consultation around an action plan for the future of the area around the Metrocentre. It's a really important asset for Gateshead, obviously the Metrocentre generates considerable business rates, which supports our budget, so it's important we protect this asset particularly with the issues relating to climate change and rising river levels. There are plans which we are proposing in terms of developing new housing, new employment and interventions to protect the land around the river bank. This is out for consultation at the present time. It's not something that will happen immediately, it's planned up to 2045 but it's really important that people take part in the consultation and let us have your views.
The third point is something which has been in the local media - issues related to the Tyne Bridge. We have, eventually, been successful in securing funding form Central Government, we've received confirmation we'll receive £35m of funding to renovate the Tyne Bridge. Some of the early works have already been conducted, the scaffolding has been put up, we've got provision made to safeguard the future of the kittiwakes. However when the major work on the road takes place, for the safety of the workforce, it necessitates the bridge being reduced to one lane in either direction. Currently around 70,000 vehicles a day use the Tyne Bridge, obviously reducing capacity by 50% means there is going to be major disruption as a consequence of this. The message is be aware so from April the Tyne Bridge will reduce down to one lane and that work will take several years - we need to get it complete for the centenary celebrations in 2029. I'd ask people to plan their journey and look for alternative routes because there will be considerable congestion. The work needs to be done, it is essential, but we'll try to mitigate the impact as much as possible but please make alterative provision.
Final point is this year is a big election year - I'm not going to tell anyone how to vote although may do so when I knock on your door. There is a Mayoral election for a Mayor for the north east, an election for a new Police and Crime Commissioner, there'll also be local council elections - all on the same day - and of course there will be a General Election at some point, maybe in May maybe later in the year. This is a really important year for election. My main message is you can't take part in the elections unless you're registered to vote - it only takes two minutes and can be done online. I'd ask everyone just to check 'Am I registered to vote?' You can also apply for a postal vote or vote at a polling station. I'd encourage everybody to have their say - its' important that those elected representatives have the widest possible mandate so they have the authority to carry out your wishes.