Oswestry Town Council being asked to budget £110k for initiatives including 'movement and public space strategy'
Oswestry Town Council is being asked to find £110,000 in its budget to pay for several initiatives.
Five motions are being put forward by Liberal Democrat councillors as the authority looks to set its budget for the 2026/27 financial year.
The council tax precept is already set to go up by 20 per cent due to the town council agreeing to take on several services from Shropshire Council, while car park charges will also be increasing by the same amount.
Councillors Grace Goodlad and Jonathan Upton are proposing that £30,000 is set aside for the development of a “movement and public space strategy” that will be raised via an equivalent rise in the precept.
They say issues with transport in the town are often raised by residents and visitors, and it’s important that the council works in partnership “to take a step back, reimagine and evaluate the footpaths, cycleways, roads and parking across Oswestry to where intervention could vastly improve”.
Councillor Goodlad has also put her name to a motion calling on the town council to budget £25,000 for ongoing support to the Oswestry and Borders Foodbank.
“It is important that we as a town council step up to expand what we are capable of and investigate new ways that we can engage with the community, signpost support and offer help where needed,” reads the motion, also signed by Councillor Richard Elmitt.
“We must also work with community organisations, churches, and other authorities to offer as much support as possible.”
Councillor Goodlad also wants the town council to provide £25,000 to Oswestry Library to reduce any impact on service provision or opening hours.
The proposal – also signed by Councillor Duncan Borrowman – is for the funding to be recognised through Oswestry Town Council branding, and a quarterly report is brought to council outlining upcoming events, regular meetings held and any other relevant information.
Meanwhile, Councillor Care Johnson is proposing that the town council purchases two solar-powered, heated pods to help support homeless people, which will come out of the capital reserves. She also wants £10,000 set aside from the revenue budget to maintain them.
And Councillor Mark Owen is asking that £20,000 is budgeted to cover the increased repairs/maintenance and energy costs of street lights.
He wants the council to work with developers and the highway authority to ensure any proposed lighting is of a standard that can be managed by the authority’s contractor, and a phased plan is developed to adopt any streetlights that are currently managed by Shropshire Council.
The motions will be discussed at an Oswestry Town Council meeting on Wednesday (January 14).
