BRACKNELL councillors were celebrating on Tuesday (December 18) after it was announced the authority is set to get a greater share of money raised from businesses than expected.

The council bid with the five other Berkshire local authorities (LA) to be part of a new government business rates scheme having been part of an inaugural initiative last year.

Councillor Peter Heydon, Executive Member for Finance and Transformation, said:

“Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) is very pleased to have led another successful bid on behalf of the Berkshire authorities that has secured Business Rate Pilot status for a second year running.

“Berkshire is one of only two areas in the country to have been successful for two consecutive years and will as a consequence secure around £25m additional funding in 2019/20.

“This will enable us to deliver essential improvements to infrastructure in different parts of the county that will help strengthen our local economy, as well as provide much needed additional funds for the individual councils and the Royal Berkshire Fire Service.”

The news was announced at a meeting of the council’s top team and executive member for transformation and finance Cllr Marc Brunel-Walker, the executive member for development and regeneration, said: “The retention of the business rates pilot is an incredible achievement.

“The money makes a very big difference.”

The new pilot scheme will see the six Berkshire local authorities, including Reading Borough Council, Wokingham BC, Slough BC, West Berkshire Council and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead keep 75 per cent of the growth income raised from business rates.

This means an extra £3-4m is expected to become available for the council.

Neighbouring authority Reading Borough Council is set to receive £2.3m.

Participation in the scheme is also expected to raise £11m for infrastructure developments in the county.

Last year the six Berkshire LAs were chosen to be part of a similar scheme which allowed them to keep 100 per cent of the business rates raised.

In the council’s budget reports, published on December 10, it was said that participation in the pilot scheme for a second year running was “a very unlikely scenario”.

However, the borough treasurer Stuart McKellar, who was heavily praised by the council’s executive for his work in securing the Berkshire LAs involvement in the scheme, said at the meeting that being part of the scheme would be a “very helpful addition” given the authority’s financial pressures.

The News reported earlier this month that the council is facing a £2.5m funding gap in its revenue budget, which could mean a council tax increase of 2.99 per cent for Bracknell residents.

This would raise an additional £1.5m, meaning an extra £1m would be taken from the council’s reserves in order to plug the gap.

Budget reports suggested the council faces a “cliff edge” financial position in 2020/2021 after a new funding system comes into effect but last year the £7m raised from the authority’s involvement in the business rates scheme was allocated to a ‘future funding reserve’ to help the council deal with financial pressures.

The pilot announcement came after councillors voted to approve a consultation on its revenue and capital budgets for the forthcoming year.

Residents can give their thoughts on the budget from now to Tuesday, January 29, 2019.