Covid restrictions could hit council finances

Further coronavirus restrictions in Gloucester could hit city finances, warn civic chiefs.

Finance bosses at Gloucester City Council say the authority is already facing a shortfall of £500,000 in revenue from car parking this year.

However, they are also concerned of the impact new Covid-19 variants could have on their forecast.

Performance and resources cabinet member Hannah Norman (Con, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) told councillors last night of the impact the pandemic is having on the council’s finances.

She told overview and scrutiny committee that there were still budget pressures on parking, commercial properties and revenues and benefits.

“Parking revenues are being monitored and we are seeing incremental increases,” she said.

“For anyone who has tried to park in the city in recent days it has been quite difficult,” she said.

“From the revenue perspective, it’s a positive but not necessarily what visitors to the city want when they are doing their Christmas shopping.

“We have revised the parking year end position to a shortfall of £500,000 however, due to the uncertainties with parking revenue and the future concerns about Covid variants the revenues are being monitored closely as further revisions may be required.”

Cllr Terry Pullen (Lab, Moreland) said the problem with low revenue from car parking is an ongoing problem that does not seem to be getting better.

“It worries me that it’s a long-term problem,” he said.

The council’s planning service is also forecasting a £252,000 shortfall due to the increase in small applications during the pandemic.

Cllr Jeremy Hilton (Lib Dem, Kingsholm and Wotton) asked what was causing the overspend and would the budget need to be increased next year.

Cllr Norman said the reason for the shortfall was the drop in large scale planning applications which are more profitable for the council.

“The planning team have been working very hard but it’s been primarily with small applications and it has been due to the adverse effects of Covid.”

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk