South Holland District Council expected to make £67k deficit

Rising damp and mould cases along with agency binmen are among the reasons why a council is facing a nearly £70,000 deficit.

South Holland District Council is forecast to be £67,000 in red and has set itself a savings target of £441,000.

The council is facing a £187,000 overspend in the refuse department due to the need to bring in agency staff and it has been forced to complete nearly 3,000 repairs a year to tackle damp and mould.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the council’s finances as the planning department made £300,000 due to the fee for the Pathfinder Clean Energy UKDev Ltd application for the 49.9MW solar farm on agricultural land off Guanockgate Road, Sutton St Edmund.

The Government has also finally coughed up £335,000 to help fund the internal drainage boards - nearly nine months after it was promised by the previous Conservative administration.

Finance portfolio holder Coun Paul Redgate outlined the council’s position at the end of the first quarter during a recent cabinet meeting.

He said: “This year like recent years has been challenging.

“We have recently received the allocation of £335,000 in respect of Internal Drainage Boards. While the allocation is a great relief, we now need to continue the work to lobby for a more long term solution given to us by this new Government.”

A report to the cabinet meeting warns of a £187,000 overspend on agency staffing in the recycling and refuse services but these are being partially offset by salary savings.

Last October, the council reviewed and changed the district’s bin and refuse collection routes for the first time in a decade but it has recently held an consultation on whether people would like to move to wheelie bins or stick with bags. The results of the consultation are due out before the end of the year.

The council has also been forced to reset its budget for its housing revenue budget due to a number of reasons including hyperinflation, ‘greater publicity of the responsibility of social landlords’ along with increased awareness and reports of damp, condensation and mould.

The report states: “In 2022/23, the council experienced a significant increase in demand following reports of damp, condensation and mould. As with all social housing providers the council is learning and adjusting to dealing with the challenge of combatting damp, condensation and mould issues.

“The volume of demand from reported cases together with the volume of work identified from the indepth surveys has created a significant budget challenge in carrying out all of the remedial works. The current approach is not considered sustainable and is therefore currently under review to find an affordable alternative.

“A review of the (two) contracts (to cover surveys and repairs) is being undertaken with the support of the contracts and procurement team to ensure the council is achieving value for money whilst balancing its responsibility to carry out repairs.

“Therefore, a transfer from reserves is requested to support the extreme pressure being experienced whilst further work on this area is undertaken. Work arising from repairs related to damp condensation and mould has generated an additional 3,000 repairs per year when compared to the service’s five-year average.”

The reset budget will includes £200,000 damp proofing and £80,000 on fees.

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