The budget which was approved earlier today by Powys County Council will see a number of changes that could affect you.

The budget will see new charges and cutting of services as the council tries to balance its budget as it struggles with the pressures of rising costs.

Cabinet member for Finance, Labour’s Cllr David Thomas has said the changes were necessary as “without the efficiencies we’re talking about a Council Tax increase of 18 to 19 per cent.”

So here is a few things in the budget that might affect you:

Rise in Council tax

The budget has set out a 7.5 per cent rise in council tax. This will mean an increase of £114.33 a year for a Band D dwelling. This works out to a rise of £9.53 a month or £2.20 a week.

 

Blue badge holders to pay for parking

Free parking for those with disabilities will no longer be in place with charges being introduced. This is expected to raise £100,000 annually.

A Powys County Council spokesperson has previously said the plans will “introduce charging for blue badge holders in pay and display car parks but allow an additional hour on top of their paid tariff as a concession and introduce car parking charges at free car parks that are managed by the council.”

READ MORE: 7.5% council tax rise and £10m in cuts go ahead as Powys Council sets budget

Pay to get rid of DIY waste

The Council have said that  there will be a “review of the HWRC contract to introduce charges for DIY waste disposal, implement a booking system and profit share agreement.”

This means as of July 1 residents will be charged for dropping DIY waste at recycling centres across Powys.

The proposal is estimated to raise £100,000 this year and around £300,000 next year.

 

Booking system to be introduced at the tip

The council will also be bringing in a booking system at recycling centres across Powys.

In the budget the council have said: “Booking systems have successfully been introduced at HWRCs in many authorities. Residents would be required to prebook their visit online or by telephone.

“This has the effect of reducing non legitimate use of the sites by commercial operators and also residents from outside of the County.

“Whilst it may inconvenience residents having to prebook, feedback from other authorities is that it does avoid residents having to queue at sites thus improving the user experience.”

 

Over 16s to pay for bus transport and bus fare set to rise

Over 16s are set to start being charged for bus fare to use school transport as part of the council’s budget.

The fares will also be rising by around 10 per cent in some routes.  

The plan to get rid of the free travel for over 16s is estimated to raise £400,000 over two years while the increases to bus fare is expected to raise a further £85,000.

 

Cemetery fees set to rise

Cemetery fees are set to rise. This will see a 10 per cent rise on the current fee and is set to raise around £45,000 annually.

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Street lights to be dimmed

Street lighting across the county will be switched on less or dimmed, which is set to save over £40,000 this next financial year. This comes after they scrapped an idea to switch off 80 percent of all the street lights in the county.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “As part of the budget setting process, a proposal to turn off 80 per cent of the streetlights was considered but this was not taken forward as part of the draft budget for 2024/25.”

 

Grass verges to be cut less

The council will be reducing how many times a year the grass verges alongside roads will be cut from this spring.

They have said they will “reduce frequency of grass cutting on verge maintenance from three cuts down to two cuts”

This change is set to kick in from April 1 and is projected to save the council £173,000.