IT has been revealed that Maldon District Council has incurred a forecast overspend of £170,000 for refuse and recycling costs during the pandemic.

The whopping bill has come about largely as a result of extra domestic waste produced by residents working from home – and an increase in gardening activities while people have been furloughed.

The news comes in a budget report covering April to September 2020 by council officers to councillors ahead of a Strategy and Resources Committee meeting scheduled for next Thursday (19 November). The report shows heavy losses to council budgets, as well as overspends, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Such budget hits are expected at local authorities up and down the country.

Other costs to the council outlined in the report include loss of revenue from cancelled events at Promenade Park, totalling around £81,000, as well as the beach huts closure, causing a further £36,000 loss.

Necessary IT system upgrade costs associated with handling business grant applications and other government support packages cost the authority an extra £59,000, while the lockdown discount on burial fees meant a further £19,000 loss on expected income.

A further estimated £672,000 has been lost in car parking charges and another £629,000 is expected to be lost in income generated by the council's contract with Blackwater Leisure Centre.

Separately, the council's leisure service contract also leaves the authority with a likely £494,000 compensation payments bill.

The council will also suffer losses on its investments, which are not covered by government compensation, as well as a shortfall in the previously forecast share of the county council precept.

advertisement

The local authority is expected to receive a further £1million in compensation for pandemic losses, on top of an £899,000 government grant already received, though this will not cover the shortfall in income completely. The budget shortfall once fully determined will need to come out of the council's General Fund reserves, the report concludes. However, the council is still expected to be able to keep an amount in the fund above the minimum required.

• It should be noted that the details given in this article do not cover every aspect of the April to September 2020 budget projections, but give some headline details.