Coronavirus: BCP Council says lockdown could cost £53m
- Published
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said income from tourism could fall by £6m
A coastal resort council has said the coronavirus lockdown could cost it more than £53m.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said its £22m government grant did not cover the loss of income from tourism and car parks.
The council said it needed more money urgently to avoid "deep and lasting cuts" to services.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.
BCP Council said it expected to lose at least £23.9m from expected commercial income, which includes car parking. It said reduced council tax and business rates income could cost it about £11.9m.
Other additional costs, such as paying for temporary staff and higher social care prices, could top £14.5m. It said other staff restructure costs could be £3m.
The council said the estimated net cost of £31m, which is about 11% of its annual budget, it was left with after removing the £22m from the government grant was based on a 24-week economic impact covering most of the summer tourist season.
Council leader Vikki Slade said: "We need more money and we need it urgently if we are to avoid deep and lasting cuts to our services across the board."
Dorset Council, which covers the rest of the county, previously said it was incurring extra costs of £13m per month, which had not been fully met by the government.
The government announced two rounds of grants to councils, external in March and April, each amounting to £1.6bn.
It said it had also allowed authorities to defer £2.6bn in business rates payments and had brought forward £850m in social care grants.
The County Councils Network, which represents 36 county councils and unitary authorities, previously said its members were still left with an immediate shortfall of at least £600m.
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