Streetlights may go out across Eden as parish councils grapple with exorbitant costs and funding cuts imposed by Westmorland and Furness Council.
Parish councils in Eden were forced to take over streetlighting responsibilities by the former Eden District Council, with the threat that failure to do so would result in the removal of lights altogether.
Some parishes refused and have now lost lighting others took over lights to maintain lighting however, the transition and the new Westmorland and Furness Council replacing Eden District Council has now landed a significant financial burden for town and parish councils that acted to maintain streetlighting in communities across Eden.
Recent notifications from Westmorland and Furness Council have shocked parish councils across Eden with a notification of intent to bill parish councils £140.27 including VAT per light for the year 2023-24, representing a staggering 52% increase from the previous year operating costs per light. This unexpected surge in costs has thrown the budgets and precepts of town and parish councils into disarray.
In some areas of Eden, parish councils took on substantial numbers of streetlights, and now facing the prospect of a doubling in future precepts to cover the escalating expenses. This financial strain comes as a double blow, compounded by Westmorland and Furness Council's decision to withhold government grant funding for council tax rebates in parish areas starting from 2025.
In Penrith alone, over £7000 of Council Tax Reduction Scheme funding will be withheld by Westmorland and Furness council, directly impacting the budgets of town and parish councils. This move directly contradicts previous government directives urging authorities to pass on a portion of the grant funding paid to Westmorland and Furness Council by government each year to town and parish councils, unless no residents were receiving council tax reductions.
The cumulative impact of these financial burdens could force some parish councils into difficult situations, potentially leading to turning off streetlights or even town and parish councils facing bankruptcy within the next 12 months.
As communities in the former Eden District grapple with these unprecedented challenges, calls for support and intervention are growing louder, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions to ensure lighting is maintained in rural communities across Eden and that town and parish councils don’t face bankruptcy.
Calls have been made to the Secretary of State in issue a reminder of the responsibility of Westmorland and Furness Council to pass along the town and parish councils share of the council tax rebate funding. Westmorland and Furness Council leadership was last week challenged on the subject at its cabinet meetings held at Penrith Town Hall.
The Leader of Westmorland and Furness Council Cllr Jonathan Brook was asked to “explain on what level Westmorland and Furness council consider it has the right to withhold these amounts from town and parish councils in the area for its own budgetary savings benefits, as the council you are leader of will be receiving public money from government intended to be passed on to town and parish councils but will in reality be retaining the funds for its own purposes, raising the question of how this action will be anything other than an act of misappropriation of public money by Westmorland and Furness council.”
The Leader responded to the questioning saying, “As part of a package of savings proposed to deliver a balanced budget for 2024/25, and reduce the budget gap for future years, it is recommended that a £109k saving is achieved from 2025/26 by ending the Council Tax Support Grant to parish councils.”
He added “The proposed increase in the Second Homes Premium from 1 April 2025, will increase the Taxbase of parish and town councils. This will provide some compensation for the loss of the Council Tax Support Grant.”
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