Helping those most in need through the cost of living crisis will be a focus for Adur District Council over the next year.
Council leader Neil Parkin last night told a meeting of the Full Council that supporting residents would be a priority in 2023/24, with a programme of help for households struggling to afford food and heating for their homes.
There will be increased funding for the environment, with a particular focus on improving Adur’s green spaces and encouraging greater biodiversity. This includes work to develop wetlands alongside the Adur, to restore the kelp forest offshore and to spark a revitalised estuary.
The Council will continue to work to get more benefit from little-used land it owns, by building new council homes and new temporary and emergency accommodation on car parks and forgotten garage sites. This will prevent families from becoming homeless and in the longer term will save the Council more than £4m on B&B accommodation for residents.
Developers will not be allowed an uncontrolled surge of house-building. Instead, there will be increased consultation with the community to ensure locals are able to shape housing schemes where they live.
There will also be spending to help drive regeneration and development in Shoreham, Southwick, Sompting, Lancing and Fishersgate, including supporting businesses, developing a free public WiFi network across the district and working with partners to reduce crime and disorder.
The Full Council voted to increase its level of council tax by 2% for 2023/24 - the equivalent of an extra 12p per week for those living in a Band D property. That will allow further support to tackle food poverty and to help residents to claim all of the benefits they are entitled to.
Cllr Neil Parkin, the Leader of the Council, said:
“Cost of living pressures are affecting each and every one of us and we are doing all we can to help those most in need at this difficult time.
“The road before us is not straightforward and we will need to be both careful and brave in the months ahead, but we will not step back from our commitment to support the most vulnerable in our community.”
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