Fareham council draws up emergency budget as it faces £1.14m shortfall due to coronavirus pandemic

The pandemic has left the council’s original break-even £9.6m budget with a £3.66m shortfall, with government grants and other financial support expected to cover around two-thirds of this amount – leaving a hole of £1,143,700 that the council needs to fill.

Before the pandemic, the council’s financial strategy had predicted a funding gap of £1.5m over the next four years.

Concessionary terms for commercial tenants, suspension of market pitch fees, and suspended parking fees all contributed to a ‘significant’ hit on council finances, according to Fareham Borough Council leader Sean Woodward.

Cllr Woodward said: ‘Most residents are surprised that Fareham Borough Council delivers all of our services for a cost of just £3 per week for the average home, almost the lowest in the country.

‘It is fortunate that as a council we have been so prudent with our reserves for a number of years so have a strong financial standing, but this is still going to have a very significant impact on what we can and cannot do as a council for the rest of the year and for many years to come.’

As well as using the council’s reserves, a number of other measures - including charging for parking in nine coastal car parks - are to be considered to bridge the funding gap.

The executive of the council is due to decide on the parking fee proposal later today, while a petition opposing the charges has gathered more than 1,600 signatures in less than two weeks.

SEE ALSO: Community looks to rally round after Portsmouth man ‘loses everything’ in boat fire

Cllr Woodward added: ‘Our services are vital to our residents and, for many, are a lifeline.

‘But in order to safeguard those services from cuts we must find revenue from other sources - either increasing the council tax for everyone in the borough or introducing a modest charge for demand-led services.’

Alongside financial support to the council, central government has allocated more than £30m in support to businesses and self-employed residents across Fareham.

The executive of Fareham Borough Council will meet via an online conference at 6pm today.

Want to read more stories about Fareham? Join our Fareham News Facebook group to get the latest updates from the town.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron,

Thank you for reading this story.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.