September 21, 2018 2.55 pm This story is over 66 months old

North Lincolnshire Council to borrow £30m for local projects

They need to borrow £30m
The Civic Centre in Scunthorpe. North Lincolnshire Council head offices.

North Lincolnshire Council is expected to take out £30 million in loans in order to fund projects in the region.

The authority is set to borrow the money over the coming years, according to its own financial reports.

The council said it needs to carry out further borrowing due to reduced investments and that it would be spent on its capital programme.

At the end of the last financial year, the council had £188 million in loans which was up £16.5 million on the previous year.

The debt includes short term loans from other local authorities, including Basildon Borough Council and Aberdeenshire Council.

Proposed new site for Scunthorpe Market, BHS unit in the Parishes, which North Lincolnshire Council bought earlier this year.

Despite the loans, the council was below its own borrowing control limit.

Now, it is set to carry out further borrowing in order to pay for its capital programme which was agreed by councillors in February.

Projects include £12 million investments in local schools, £1.3 million for a new leisure centre in Barton and £5.2 million to improve the county’s streetlights.

Deputy leader of the opposition, Councillor Andrea Davison, asked how long the authority’s financial strategy could continue.

She praised officers for balancing the council’s books, but said the measure was similar to that of other authorities who have fallen into financial problems.

Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, Rob Waltham.

But, council leader, Rob Waltham, said that the finance officers have the “highest form of credibility”.

“They have worked hard to make sure we have clean accounts,” he said.

“We are pretty clear what we stand for, we stand for low council tax and jobs.”

He added that the council would be taking out a “low risk” form of borrowing.

It comes as cuts to local authority funding have left councils looking for other avenues of income.

West Lindsey District Council recently spent more than £2 million on a hotel in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in an effort to generate further income.

Meanwhile, City of Lincoln Council made a similar purchase for a hotel on the city’s Tentecroft Street which it said would raise funds to help to maintain key services.

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