New investment in priority areas, including tackling the climate emergency and delivering more affordable housing, will be scrutinised by councillors as part of B&NES Council’s process to set its budget for the coming year.

The proposed spending plans will go before its Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on Monday next week. The panel’s role is to comment on the proposals before they are finalised by cabinet and full council.

The report will update panel members on the council’s current financial situation and spending plans. The proposals, if adopted, would result in a general Council Tax increase of 1.99%, which equates to an increase of £27.88 for a Band D property.

Plans include allocating: £323k to provide ongoing leadership to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030, plus

an additional £64k boost in 2020/21 to develop a citizens’ engagement programme and £25k to help retro-fit existing housing stock. They also propose to spend £42k to bring empty homes back into use; £119k to improve accountability, openness and engagement with local residents, including extending webcasting; £100k for additional street cleaning and litter picking and £60k to support the council’s tree and woodland strategy and tree planting. Preventative investment includes: £152k to support domestic violence and abuse services and £100k to increase the number of Approved Mental Health Professionals.