Energy costs could lead to £2.8m Cheltenham Borough Council budget overspend

Cheltenham Borough Council has declared a cost of living emergency and is attempting to reduce energy use across its buildings

Rising energy costs are expected to lead to a £2.8m overspend at Cheltenham Borough Council.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, Peter Jeffries, said higher interest rates were also having an impact on this year's budget.

He told the cabinet that the council is taking steps to reduce its energy use.

"The most significant cost pressure we are facing is the particularly high cost of energy as we go into this crucial winter period," he added.

Presenting the budget monitoring report for the current financial year, Mr Jeffries said that about £1.8m of the forecast overspend was down to economic pressures as a result of rising inflation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"Inflation has further increased to 10% and it is expected to be somewhere between 13% and 15%. Also, interest rates, as we know, are going to go up again," said Mr Jeffries.

"The forecast for the year is an overspend of over £2.8m against a budget which, when approved, was prudent and realistic for our town recovering from the pandemic.

"The government recently made an announcement on energy. We are waiting for the detail. So as the projections change we will have to work through that detail and there will be further announcements," he added.