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Aberdeen budget: Everything you need to know as school, brown bin, parking permit and council tax costs could soar

Pets Corner at Hazlehead Park, brown bin charges, school crossing patrollers and arts events like Granite Noir all feature in the Aberdeen budget. Some images supplied by Shutterstock.
Pets Corner at Hazlehead Park, brown bin charges, school crossing patrollers and arts events like Granite Noir all feature in the Aberdeen budget. Some images supplied by Shutterstock.

Free fruit and milk could be snatched from children, Pets Corner at Hazlehead Park shut and funding to arts and sport groups slashed as Aberdeen City Council looks to save £30 million.

The local authority has unveiled a raft of budget cuts, which will be voted on next week.

Among them are plans to raise council tax by 3.3% at a time when hard-hit families are facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis.

Other measures range from saving £100,000 by reducing street lighting hours and £228,000 by “remodelling” how libraries operate.

More than £1.6m could be made by raising the price of car parking permits – from £60 to a staggering £350 per year for city centre residents.

Closing some public toilets has been suggested as a way of saving £95,000

And £730,000 could be netted by driving up already unpopular brown bin charges from £30 to £50.

How could parents be hit?

  • Those with younger children could find themselves forking out more for school dinners with a proposed £46,000 to be made from increasing meal prices for P6 and P7 pupils.
  • They would go up from £2.20 every day to £3.10, meaning a £4.50 weekly increase for household budgets.
  • Officers say a further £400,000 could be made by upping prices at secondary schools.
  • That would mean an increase from £2.45 to £3.15, or £3.50 per week.
Parents of primary school pupils could soon be paying an extra £4.50 every week if they want to ensure they have a school meal every day. Picture from Shutterstock.

The mooted cuts could have an effect before youngsters even enter the building though, with a potential £84,000 to be clawed back by cutting school crossing patrollers.

Parents will be further concerned to learn that a saving of £35,000 has been recommended by stopping giving free fruit to P1, P2 and P2/3 composite classes once per week.

And the council could trim its budget by £70,000 by ceasing to offer milk as an option with primary school meals.

Free breakfasts at seven city primary schools are at risk too, which would save £90,000.

Brown bin charges

Aberdeen residents were already unhappy at paying £30 to have their brown bins emptied.

There was uproar in 2019 when Aberdeen City Council imposed a so-called “garden tax” by charging a yearly £30 fee for brown bins containing anything other than food waste to be collected.

The authority is now proposing hiking that to £50 to secure an extra £730,000 every year.

Parking permits under review in Aberdeen budget

Meanwhile, people living in certain parts of Aberdeen currently pay £60 every year for a permit to park outside their home.

Under the raft of changes to be debated on Monday, that could soar to £350 for those living in the city centre, £250 for other areas and £150 for “peripheral” zones.

The costs alter accordingly depending on the length of the permit.

And council employees could find themselves shelling out to park at work too.

Officers say £250,000 could be gained by imposing parking charges at all of its workplaces.

How much more would I pay in council tax?

Meanwhile, a recommended 3.3% council tax increase would mean people living in Band A properties go from paying £918 to £949 each year, while those in Band D go from £1,377 to £1,423.

Our table shows the full extent of the possible increase.

Pets Corner could fall victim to Aberdeen budget

Hazlehead Park’s Pets Corner has become something of an Aberdeen institution for generations of youngsters.

It underwent a £750,000 revamp just five years ago.

And the venue presently homes alpacas, miniature donkeys, fish, reptiles, meerkats, Vader the burmese python and Lulu the pygmy goat.

Alpaca Pedro, with mum Betty, at Pets’ Corner. Picture by Aberdeen City Council.

But officers say the cash-strapped local authority could recoup £55,000 by closing the beloved attraction.

Crime writing festival could be hit

Aberdeen Performing Arts, pushed to the brink by the pandemic, could have its funding cut by £49,000 with the council withdrawing its support for the Granite Noir crime writing festival and True North music showcase.

The 5% cut would see the council’s backing dwindle from £985,000 to £936,000.

Sport bodies could be hammered too

Sport Aberdeen, which runs more than 20 venues across the city and came close to collapse in lockdown, could suffer a similar blow.

Having its funding sliced by 5% would leave it worse off by £274,000 in 2022/23.

The arms length organisation already controversially had its council support cut by £550,000 in the 2019/20 budget.

The pool at Aberdeen Sports Village.

And Aberdeen Sports Village could miss out on £21,000 in the next financial year under a proposal to trim support by 2.5% from £845,000 to £824,000.

Tourism champions could have support slashed

The Visit Aberdeenshire tourism group has also fallen victim to cuts in the past – and history could repeat itself on Monday.

In 2019, the body’s support was slashed by £260,000 despite worries about the impact on the visitor economy.

Now, councillors could tighten the purse strings even more with a proposed £160,000 reduction.

Cuts proposed to Aberdeen Inspired

Aberdeen Inspired have unveiled its new night-time economy manager Ewan McLean last December. Pictured here with Marie Boulton and Adrian Watson. Picture by Kenny Elrick

And city centre improvement group Aberdeen Inspired is also in the line of fire.

Funding towards the city centre manager post, currently held by Innes Walker, would be cut by £47,000.

And cash towards the night-time economy manager position would reduce by £20,000 under the plans.

Why does the council need to save so many millions?

A report penned by chief finance officer Jonathan Belford says the need for the £30.9m saving comes as “uncertainty created by the pandemic, volatile and rising inflation, and net zero targets” afflict the council’s coffers.

He adds: “Recent developments in Ukraine, with the invasion by Russia, means this picture gets potentially more unstable and challenging as Ukraine fights back and countries around the world respond with sanctions.

“It adds further geopolitical risk that the council may find impacts it’s plans.”

‘We will protect those most in need’

Ryan Houghton says the government is to blame for the proposed cuts. Picture by Kami Thomson

The council’s finance convener Ryan Houghton said the measures “come against a backdrop of SNP government cuts to local authorities”.

The Conservative said: “The administration will do everything it can to protect those most in need of council services while investing in our city’s future.”

The meeting will take place at 2pm on Monday.

You can see the papers here, with the full list of savings in Appendix eight.