Welcome to this week’s edition of The Ilkley Journal roundup, featuring news that Ilkley’s abandoned tip is going on sale, the contributions the green sector is making towards West Yorkshire’s economy and the concerning finances at Bradford Council.
NEWS IN BRIEF 🚨
Bradford Council puts Ilkley tip up for sale
Golden Butts Household Waste Recycling Centre is to be put up for sale, nearly six months on from being closed as part of cost-cutting measures by the financially beleaguered Bradford Council.
Ilkley & Ben Rhydding Conservative Councillors shared a letter on Facebook that was sent to Ilkley’s three councillors ward councillors, Ros Brown (Green Party), Andrew Loy (Conservatives) and David Nunns (Conservatives), notifying them of the sale.
“Where the disposal is a critical part of an approved corporate strategy, the general presumption is that disposals will proceed unless there is very good reason not to,” Bradford Council stated in the letter.
“The disposal of these sites is considered critical in line with the council’s medium-term financial strategy, which identifies the need to generate significant capital receipts through a planned disposal programme during 2024/5 and 2025/6.”
Ilkley & Ben Rhydding Conservative Councillors said that they are currently putting together a draft bid, with a view to reopening the site as a recycling centre.
West Yorkshire’s green sector delivers £8.1 billion to the county’s economy
A whopping £8.1 billion was generated by West Yorkshire’s green section (aka the Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services sector) in 2022/23, with that figure expected to rise to £11.1 billion in 2025/26, according to a new report.
That value of £8.1 billion was generated by close to 3,000 businesses, the West Yorkshire Green Technologies & Services Sector Mapping paper stated.
Produced by Green Economy, which is a part of the social enterprise The Growth Company, the report revealed that the top five sub-sectors were, in order, wind, building technologies, alternative fuels vehicle, alternative fuels and carbon finance.
Bradford’s green sector was found to have contributed £1.4 billion to the local economy in 2022/23. Leeds was the biggest contributor.
Ilkley Tarn fundraiser completed by octogenarian
Eighty-two year old Sheila Mahon successfully completed 50 laps around Ilkley Tarn last week, with her 15-mile trek raising over £1,400 so far.
The Ilkley and District Good Neighbours trustee did 10 laps a day for five days to raise money for the charity, which turned 50 this year.
Hannah Walton, Moving On coordinator at Ilkley and District Good Neighbours, told the BBC earlier this month “getting funding in the current climate can be really difficult and we just want to make sure that we can be here for another 50 years supporting people”.
The charity’s mission is to support older, disabled and vulnerable people in Ilkley and the surrounding areas live independent and happier lives.
Sheila is now off on a welcome break and The Ilkley Journal is looking to catch up with her in a couple of weeks so keep your eyes peeled for a follow-up story.
THE LEAD 📰
Bradford Council 1 of 5 councils with significant funding shortfalls
Bradford Council has been named as one of five councils with substantial funding shortfalls that amount to over half a billion, according to a report.
Unison’s Council’s on the Brink found that Bradford faces a predicted shortfall of £126 million for 2025/26, along with £90 million for Leicester Council, £104 million for Somerset Council, £119 million for Birmingham Council and £132 million for Hampshire Council.
The report said that the total funding shortfall for all councils across England, Scotland and Wales was more than £4 billion for 2025/26. Without serious intervention and support, that figure could increase to £8.5 billion by 2026/27.
“The funding gap measures the difference between each council’s income and the amount needed to maintain promised service levels,” Unison explained.
“But as the shortfall grows between the cash local authorities need and what they actually have to spend, crucial services and jobs are being slashed. This is having a potentially catastrophic and far-reaching effect upon communities.”
All eyes are now on the autumn statement in October, with Unison keen to see the Labour government provide additional emergency grant funding to cash-strapped councils, alongside proposed long term funding settlements that will enable councils to better plan their spending.
At the meeting of the executive earlier this month, Bradford Council said that a capitalisation direction “was only an interim solution” and that tough measures are needed to get it into a “financially sustainable position”.
“The council will need to deliver a combination of [the] delivery of significantly higher levels of savings than the council has previously achieved; additional income, further asset disposals and further capital expenditure reductions.”
In March, Bradford Council was given a £220 million lifeline by the then Conservative government, split across two years (£80 million for 2023-24 and £140 million for 2024-25).
It wasn’t the only council receiving what is known as Exceptional Financial Support, with 18 other councils also getting a much-needed financial boost.
Speaking at the time, councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said that it would enable the council to balance its budget this year and the next.
“However, this is not free money, it has to be paid back,” she went on to say. “And like all councils, we still face extremely challenging financial headwinds over the next few years, primarily due to rising demand in social care.
“The difficult decisions have not gone away. This news does mean, however, that we will be able to put in place our five year plan to make the council financially sustainable. This plan needs to be delivered quickly and, as set out in the recent budget reports, includes tackling the structural budget gap, refreshing the council’s culture and investing in the corporate services needed to deliver change.”
In February, a report from the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), The State of Local Government Finance in England 2024, warned that unless funding for local authorities is reformed, over half of councils are likely to go bankrupt in the next parliament.
It painted a concerning picture of local government finance, with local leaders in a “state of perpetual crisis management”. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGIU said that “a structural funding issue is now impossible to deny”.
Proposals to solve some of these challenges put forward by the LGIU include securing multi-year financial settlements, terminating competitive bids for funding, and reforming council tax and business rates.