New facilities for North Norfolk after budget approval and Council Tax raise

North Norfolk District Council’s budget was approved by councillors at Wednesday night’s full council meeting.

Proposing the budget, portfolio holder for finance and assets Councillor Eric Seward said it was a balanced budget which demonstrated North Norfolk District Council was continuing to robustly invest in services while charging one of the lowest council tax rates of district councils in England.

To maintain its commitment to delivering first-class amenities and services to support the North Norfolk community, the council will continue to explore and develop its income streams to help counter rising inflation and fuel costs which impact the council’s budgeting plans.

Councillor Seward said:“As a key part of the council’s green agenda, we continue to plant more trees (now over 50,000) and have been a major contributor to North Norfolk having more public electric vehicle charging points (69) than any other district council area in Norfolk.

“I am pleased to say that again in 2022-23 the council has a balanced budget which not only maintains the services that North Norfolk District Council already provides but also allows for growth in some of our key public services.

“To be able to say there are no cuts to services in North Norfolk places this council in a different position to many councils in England who due to financial pressures face a further round of reducing the services they provide. It reflects the fact that the council has strong finances which are robustly managed.

“This is a budget about investing in public and community services and investing in our staff to bring this about.

“It is about striving to run our services efficiently and providing value for money for our council tax payers.”

Mr Seward outlined some of the services that would be coming to the area in the next year.

They include new public toilets opening in Fakenham and Wells to be followed by new and refurbished toilets in North Walsham and Sheringham.

There is also a contribution of £900k to infrastructure works for the Fakenham Urban Extension which in return attracts a higher rate of affordable housing in the related housing development.

After freezing council tax payments last year, a modest rise in the charges levied by NNDC was approved as part of the budget, equating to an annual rise of £4.95