‘We have weathered the storm': Kirklees Council leader optimistic about future
The leader of the Kirklees Council is “optimistic” the local authority has “weathered the storm” and is heading in the right direction.
A meeting of Kirklees Council’s overview and scrutiny management committee heard an update from leader Coun Carole Pattison and cabinet member for Finance and Regeneration, Coun Graham Turner.
The council has been navigating treacherous financial waters in recent years, with the challenges peaking in 2023/24 when the local authority faced a £47m black hole in its budget.
However, Kirklees successfully avoided the same fate as several other local authorities across the country which had to issue a dreaded Section 114 Notice – or declare effective bankruptcy.
But to do so, tough, often unpopular decisions were made in order to balance the books.
Among them, increasing fees and charges like Council Tax, residential parking permits and parking in town centres, selling off assets, closing facilities like customer service centres, tips and Dewsbury Sports Centre, and agreeing to privatise the last two council-run dementia care homes.
Coun Pattison told the meeting: “We have weathered the storm better than other councils.
"Sometimes it hasn’t felt like that because we’ve made cuts, we’ve made savings in the past which have really hurt our communities and our businesses but it was prudent, I have to say, and we’re now reaping the benefits of that.
“I am optimistic about the future and things like getting the basics right, I do want to do that, but I want next, that our residents feel that.
“ want them to feel that in the sense that they’re not worried about the council anymore, they don’t need to complain, they don’t need to ring us up to say ‘What’s happened here? What’s happened there?’, because it’s all delivered to them.
"Whatever they’re needing, it’s there.
“Their bin won’t get missed, their grass will get cut – those very basic things – and they will feel that difference.
"And I think that’s where we need to head next. That won’t be easy and it won’t be tomorrow, and we know there’ll be many challenges in doing that.”
Councillor Turner told the meeting the number one priority will always be to produce a balanced budget for 2026/27 which will be presented in February.