Next year’s budget will see West Northamptonshire Council invest an additional £30m in capital funding on a range of projects, some of which will help reduce costs and generate income to support services in future years, the council said.
Other schemes set to move forward in the year ahead will help tackle speeding in rural areas, create new cycleways and footpaths for healthier travel, and improve local roads.
The council is setting aside a total of £101m in the capital programme for 2023/24 – an increase of £30m compared to previous plans for the year. The additional expenditure is earmarked to improve local infrastructure and assets such as land, buildings, and equipment. It is separate to the revenue budget the Council spends on the day-to-day running of services, which includes funding from Council Tax.
New capital investment projects set to progress in the coming year include:
- Increased spend on highways maintenance and improvement
- Active travel enhancements like cycleways and footpaths
- Switch to LED street lighting
- The development of a new commercial property at Heartlands, Daventry
- Leisure centre decarbonisation scheme
- Rural vehicle speed reduction
- Replacement of play equipment and safety surfaces in parks.
Work will also continue on delivering plans to drive economic growth in West Northants with further progress expected on delivering multi-million-pound plans to revitalise the centre of Northampton through the Government’s Towns Fund, starting with the Market Square transformation.
In addition to the capital programme, during the next financial year the Council will also be earmarking government public health funding to progress a range of schemes aimed at improving residents’ wellbeing, reducing health inequalities and continuing to support communities through the ongoing cost of living crisis.
