How much services will rise in proposed Newport budget

Later this week, Newport City Council is set to approve their budget for public consultation, ahead of the upcoming financial year.

Ahead of the cabinet meeting, which will take place on Friday at 10am, a list of how much council services are set to cost in the 2022/2023 year has been released.

According to documents, the council is feeling the effects of the pandemic, Brexit, and the climate crisis, and as a result, a number of key services look set to rise.

In addition to council tax – which is set to rise - there are a number of planned increases in costs across the city.

Below, you can find out what services are proposed to rise a rise in their cost in the next year.

Proposed service cost increased in next budget

Care homes

In Newport, the weekly cost of casre at a number of council-owned care facilities is set to see a rise.

Costs at three homes are set to see an increase of 3.9 per cent.

Blaen-y-pant is set to see the weekly cost rise from £710 to £738.

Parklands sees a rise from £613 to £637, and Spring Gardens sees an increase from £710 to £738.

Centrica, an external care facility, will also see an increase from £1,066 to £1,108.

Cemeteries

Costs associated with the city’s cemeteries are set to rise by four per cent too.

This includes burial fees, headstones, cremation, exhumation, and funeral costs.

These are all set to rise by four per cent.

Resident parking fees

Parking is often a contentious issue in Newport, and while there are no proposed changes to car parking fees in the city’s car parks, the same cannot be said for parking for residents.

There is a proposed four per cent rise in fees, taking parking permits up from £34 to £35.

Visitor and business permits are also set to rise too.

Bins and waste collection

The cost of replacement bins is set to rise, and so too is the cost of bin bags.

This ranges from less than one per cent for recycling bins, to six per cent for small residential waste bins.

Street trader licences

Taxi licences look set to remain unchanged, but the same cannot be said for street traders.

Costs are set to rise by between three and four per cent.

This includes city centre pitches, which will rise to £189 per year.

Static trader fees are also rising, with a full year here increasing to £1,012.

But, the biggest rise comes for a yearly licence for a city centre pitch, which will cost £3,163.

There are also increases to mobile trader fees too.

Facility hire

The cost of hiring some council owned facilities looks set to rise, too.

There are no changes to the cost of sport facilities, but venues such as Caerleon Pavilion is set to see a rise of five per cent for commercial use, and smaller increases for education, children’s party, and community use.

At the top end, this facility will now cost £18 per hour.

The monthly rental cost of lodges in the city’s parks is also set to rise.

Shaftsbury Park Lodge sees the biggest increase, a six per cent rise to £600 per month.

Elsewhere, despite being home to popular television programmes in recent times, a decision has been made to increase the cost of film permits on council land.

A full day’s commercial filming is set to increase by four per cent from £1,200, to £1,248.

Reclaiming missing dogs

Anyone who has ever lost their pet knows of the anguish it can cause, but the cost to reclaim a missing dog in Newport is also set to rise.

Currently, it costs £100 to reclaim a missing dog that has been in the city’s kennels for a day, though this is set to rise to £104.

This is set to scale up, increasing with each day.

However, the kennel officer on duty will have discretion on these fees relative to the circumstances.