New kite rally and spring planting planned for Morecambe as 2025/26 budget is approved by town council

The plans were revealed at a full council meeting on Thursday February 20, during which a precept increase of 4.09% was approved.

With more than 90% of chargeable dwellings within the Morecambe Town Council boundary in Council Tax Bands A-C, this equates to a £2.66-£3.55 a year rise for the vast majority of households in Morecambe (5-7p more per week).

The town council also laid out its plan to continue subsidising the precept over the medium term, with a £179,000 subsidy this year following a £150,000 subsidy in 2024/25.

This sets the council on a trajectory to deliver a total subsidy of more than £700,000 by the 2028/28 financial year through a combination of reserves and other sources.

Planned service improvements include an expansion of the town council’s team of Town Rangers and equipment to deliver further public realm enhancements within Morecambe.

This includes a project to bring spring planting back to a number of flowerbeds in Morecambe for the first time since 2017, when spring planting across the district was discontinued by Lancaster City Council due to resource limitations.

Announced a new kite-flying event to take place in the summer of 2025, with an ambition to deliver a multi-sensory experience enhancing accessibility and inclusivity for the blind and partially sighted.

This follows the discontinuation of the popular Catch The Wind Festival in 2023.

The council has also approved larger grant pots from which to support local charities, CICs, community groups and festival and event producers at a time when funding pressures and competition are becoming increasingly pronounced.

It committed £25,000 in funding for Baylight festival in the second year of a three-year £75,000 headline sponsorship agreement which will see Baylight delivered by Morecambe Sparkle in association with the Town Council until 2027.

It has also created an earmarked reserve to enable implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order banning caravan, campervan and motorhome parking along Morecambe Promenade, subject to an agreement being reached with Lancaster City and Lancashire County Councils.

To enable this, the council will be setting a precept of £101.55 per Band D property – the equivalent of £1.95 a week or 28p a day.

The vast majority of households will be paying between £67.70 and £90.27 this year (£1.30-1.74 a week or 19-25p a day).

The precept will make up around 4% of the overall Council Tax bill for those living within the Morecambe Town Council boundary and is the only portion of Morecambe residents’ Council Tax that will be spent entirely on service delivery within Morecambe. 

Coun Clark Kent, chairperson of Morecambe Town Council’s finance & governance committee, said: “We have set a budget that safeguards our existing services, allows for some expansion into some discretionary service areas that have been dropped by higher tier authorities, and puts us in a position to try and deliver solutions to particular issues which residents have been very vocal about, such as the loss of a kite festival and campervan parking on the promenade.”

“Our officers have worked diligently to control spending and ensure best value for money is achieved on projects this past year. In turn, this has allowed us to deliver a higher level of precept subsidy in the new year’s budget.

"They have been instructed to continue in this vein in the coming year, as well as trying to proactively generate additional income from alternative sources – for example, via grants, outsourcing of services, and via the adopted investment strategy – as we continue to try and minimise any future increases in the precept.

“We are very aware that continued pressure on the city and county council budgets is leaving statutory services within Morecambe ever further stretched.

"The prospect of local government reorganisation in the area is also on the horizon, which may require the town council to take on even greater responsibilities in the coming years. This budget puts us in a position to react accordingly as the impacts of both become more apparent.”