Cheshire East’s annual prayer (sorry – plan)

Cheshire East Plan 2025-29 (more likely a ‘prayer’), was adopted by council earlier this week.

The ‘plan’ lays out commitments for the borough, and (Lord help us) “a new vision enabling prosperity and wellbeing for all in Cheshire East”.

We have to wonder how many Cheshire East employees it took to come up with that mission statement.

Cheshire East says the “plan sets out our ambition for our communities and places. We must maximise the potential of the borough, its communities and businesses to unlock prosperity and wellbeing for all. We know that we will need to work well with residents and partners, and we need to get the basics right to help unlock the opportunities at our fingertips.”

Now the big question is, they’ve been trying to do that for the past 25 years since the very inception of Cheshire East – and for most of that time have failed dismally – and for the poor residents expensively! 

They continue: “We know that we need to put the council on a sustainable financial footing so that we can drive improvements and deliver our ambitions for the borough.”

So the same people who put the council into debt to the tune of £100 million actually believe they can sort out the shambles of their own making? 

The council also agreed the budget for 2025-26 and ‘financial strategy’ for the next four years. “The budget sets out the council’s forecast income, expenditure and savings, proposals for the use of exceptional financial support (EFS) from central government, and a 4.99% increase in council tax, to ensure that income will cover ongoing costs and future commitments in a sustainable and manageable way.”

Remember, the Government rejected Cheshire East’s appeal for a near 10% rise (without asking us) – and they go on to say:   “The increase in council tax for Cheshire East Council is below the referendum limit set by government and is made up of two per cent for adult social care and 2.99 per cent for general purposes. This increase is equivalent to £1.72 per week for a Band D property.”

Doesn’t sound a lot, but notice they always quote the weekly increase – never the annual cost. A band D council tax bill is knocking at the door of £2,500 this year.

The Police and Crime Commissioner does the same. A couple of quid a week doesn’t sound much – until you realise every Band D household is forking out around £300 a year for their police precept. 

Finally, Cheshire East would like to thank the ‘hundreds’ (surely not) of people who fed back on its “approach to budget setting and who have contributed their ideas to the Cheshire East Plan. Your views have been invaluable in guiding the approach we have taken this year.”