West Berkshire Council's spending plans for 2024/25

Published: 05 March 2024

Spending on services and infrastructure across West Berkshire from April was approved by West Berkshire Council on Thursday 29 February. The 2024/25 budget will see £174m delivering services across the district and £50m on infrastructure and improvement projects.

Delivering investment across the district, the £50m capital programme will see more than £10m invested in schools and education, £4m on improving roads and £1m on active travel schemes.

The longer-term budget sets out a proposal to invest £331m on capital projects over the next ten years.

Alongside that is a net budget of around £174m this year which will be spent delivering more than 700 statutory services for local residents. Used by residents every day, these include support ranging from collecting bins and providing recycling services, maintaining parks and open spaces, to keeping children safe and families together. In the 2024/25 budget is:

• A reduction in the garden waste collection charge from £58 to £55;
• An increase of £700,000 on the provision of Home to School Transport; and
• An additional £12.3m spent on social care.

Speaking about the budget Councillor Jeff Brooks, Acting Leader of West Berkshire Council said:

“This budget is a good start in making our finances stronger and helping pave the way to delivering better services for our residents. We are focused on delivering better value for your council tax, and at the same time investing in services and infrastructure to improve how residents live their lives across the district. It’s the first budget of the new administration, but it shows how we mean to go on and we’re committed to delivering for local people in the years ahead.”

More information may be found on West Berkshire Council’s web site.