April 2023

5 Buckden Roundabout April 2023 From your District Councillor From your District Councillor Budget The headline for the 23/24 budget is that HDC is breaking even and has a balanced budget without needing to use any re- serves or savings to do so. The news gets better as no cuts to are being made to front line services. Looking at our peers it doesn ’ t seem that there are many budgets that look like this and it should be a point of celebration for our residents. To enable the council to carry on providing vital statutory ser- vices, Huntingdonshire Band D Council Tax is set to go up by £5 a year to £155.86 from the new financial year starting on April 1 2023. The rise, which amounts to less than 10p a week, or 3.31%, means that the average household will only pay a total of £3 a week for all the services provided by Huntingdonshire District Council. HDC are in this position for a few reasons. A key one is that we have recruited an excellent new S151 officer (Chief Finance Officer equivalent), whose arrival at about the same time as the new joint administration has galvanised a very capable team and meant that everything is being looked at from a different perspective and with little corporate memory. This has swept away items that have been placed in some sort of backlog or wish list, which in turn has reduced the demand on the monetary requirement. The team have also adjusted quick- ly to the changing treasury position. There are still challenges ahead following the the second “ once in a lifetime ” event in three years, the higher inflation in one year than the compound total of the previous seven and cer- tain costs like energy going well beyond that headline inflation figure. Specifically, there will be a requirement to collect food waste from residents and this will not be allowed to be collected with garden waste. Considering this cost, the broader strategic posi- tion and our statutory versus discretionary services it was con- cluded that introducing a charge for green bins is the most ap- propriate way to deliver a five year plan with strong confidence and reduced reliance on government grants. The green waste situation is not yet fully clear – HDC does not have the details and broad assumptions have been made, with the expenditure budget reduction in Leisure, waste and street scene tying to this expected change. The detail will arrive through the year ahead. HDC Priorities and New Corporate Plan Over the coming months, the council will look to set new prior- ities as part of a new Corporate Plan, which builds on this budget and will also link to the council ’ s other strategies in- cluding the Climate Strategy and Huntingdonshire Futures Place Strategy. During 2023 we will be setting new priorities for the council, and we are ambitious with what we want to achieve as we look to implement a new Place Strategy, Huntingdonshire Futures, which sets out a vision for the future of the district to 2050 along with a new Climate Strategy and preparation works for a new Local Plan. District Council appoints interim Managing Director Oliver Morley will take over as Huntingdonshire District Coun- cil ’ s interim Managing Director from Wednesday 1 March fol- lowing the departure of Joanne Lancaster. Oliver, the District Council ’ s Corporate Director for People, was officially appointed at a meeting of Full Council on Thursday 15 December but will start on 1 March following the departure of Jo Lancaster who stepped down after nearly 10 years in the post. Recruitment for a permanent Managing Director will begin in the Spring. More on Buses Last month I discussed the Ting bus service as way of enjoying on - demand, tailor made bus trips. Ting is a form of DRT (Direct Responsive Transport). Ting covers the West Hunting- donshire area including key towns such as St Neots, Hunting- don, Sawtry and surrounding villages. The service has been introduced to West Huntingdonshire to improve transport links for those living in rural areas, removing young people ’ s de- pendence on parents for lifts and allowing local residents to lessen their reliance on cars. I suggested to give Ting a try and recommended the download of the Vectare DRT app to your phone. Following feedback from residents, I realise that I should have mentioned that you don ’ t need an app to use the service. Single and return Ting trips can also be booked over the phone, by dialing 0115 777 3187 . I understand that the operator, Vectare, will book a taxi to get you home should you get stranded without a bus. Apolo- gies to those who were given the impression that Ting is an ‘ App Only ’ service. Wishing you well, Martin Martin Hassall District Councillor for Buckden, Diddington and Southoe Executive Councillor for Corporate & Shared Services - Phone: 07480 798 342 Buckden Learning Group Up- date In early January we returned to Buckden Towers to start a 10 week course entitled ‘ The Soul of Russian Music with Great 19th Century Composers ’ about the de- velopment of music in Russia. Having made the decision to restrict attendance to 40 in order to stay in the main house Conference Room, we again had a waiting list. After some people changed their plans, all on the waiting list were accommodated. During this course, 40 members are hearing the story of the celebrated Russian composers of the 19th Century who faced the challenge of linking the European music language with the Russian national tradition. This was not an easy task. At the time of writing (March 6) we are about to open up en- rolment for two further courses. Firstly, a 7 week Zoom course starting in April entitled ‘ The History of Christianity from the Earliest Times to the Reformation ’ (see advert on page 11 for details). As the name suggests this is a history course; it is not about faith or belief. This will be followed at the end of June by a short course, this time in the Village Hall. This is entitled ‘ The Rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany to 1939’. This new course, with a popular local tutor, has been developed with our en- couragement. These will be followed by further courses, mostly face - to - face, that have been planned through to Christmas 2024. As usual, our courses have been interspersed with some indi- vidual discussion sessions on Zoom; this is expected to contin- ue. We remain hopeful that the group will continue to be success- ful. Note that pre - registration for our courses is essential to avoid disappointment.