East Lindsey assigns £300k to sustainable investments

East Lindsey District Council is joining the bandwagon of business and property investment being carried out elsewhere in the county.

The leaders of ELDC are set to ask for £300,000 to investigate projects for the next two to four years across the district which it is hoped will ‘lay the foundations’ for the authority’s future.

Council leader Craig Leyland and portfolio holder for finance Councillor Richard Fry will ask for cash to be agreed at the authority’s executive board on September 26.

Councillor Leyland said during a meeting on Friday: “We’re modifying the way we run as a council. We want to be more ambitious in terms of the assets that we hold and look to make sure that the revenue we generate provides what we need for a council.

“We’ve made changes we’ve had to make, but ongoing we need to change how we operate so we’re becoming more commercial, making better use of our assets and becoming a borrowing council making better use of assets and investing in residents’ services.”

However, Councillor Leyland said not all the money would need to be spent, and that it would depend what specialists and preparation work.

“This is not a vanity project, this is about necessity,” he added. It’s a very carefully considered in terms of the benefit to the council and its residents.”

Proposed projects under consideration include:

• The potential of setting up the council’s own housing company, similar to North Kesteven District Council’s Lafford Homes. This could see ELDC develop homes and create an income from rents.
• Looking at whether ELDC can use its own land to build its required number of affordable housing by using contributions from developers.
• Looking at the council’s use of office space, how it uses its current facilities at Tedder Hall, in Manby and Skegness Town Hall, and the feasibility, including whether the council could move home.
• Working with Magna Vitae to improve leisure services, including the redevelopment of the Station Sports Centre in Mablethorpe. Councillor Fry said the aim was to increase the income for MV in order to reduce costs for ELDC.
• Improving the council’s renewable energy scheme including providing solar panels and electric car charging points.

East Lindsey District Council has seen funding cuts of £7million since 2010 – around 30 per cent – and will need to find a further £3.7 million by 2021.

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