Funding for play areas and sponsorship for World Rugby Hall of Fame.  Other key points include;

• Council tax increased by £5 per year or less than 10p per week, which for Rugby Borough Council will mean an ‘Average Band D Property’ will pay £139.36 per year or £11.61 per month (based over 12 months). 
• The Labour Group also proposed £5, the Lib Dem’s proposed 3%. 
• We’ve fixed the Garden Waste Charge at £40 for the year – a decision also proposed by both the Labour and LibDem budget Proposals.

Leader of Rugby Borough Council, Cllr. Micheal Stokes said; “The Conservative Proposal will move to increase an Average Band D household’s council tax by £5 per year. Increasing tax to residents is never an easy decision to make, but asking for an additional 10 pence per week to ensure the range and high standard of services provided by this council, we hope will be seen as a fair balance.”

A Conservative Administration has committed to;

• Continue the Conservative commitment to our Town Centre by allocating £150,000 to be spent in Rugby Town, taken directly from the business rates of the shops at Elliott’s Field Phase 1 and Junction One Retail Park.

Cllr. Stokes said; “Our town is clean, it is safe and it is welcoming. We’ve seen new businesses make significant investments in our town despite a backdrop of a shift in peoples shopping habits.”

• We will invest £460,000 in our parks and open spaces, including refurbishment schemes, new equipment and making our street furniture more accessible for the disabled.

Cllr. Stokes; “Parks and open spaces are not just about children’s play areas, they contribute towards the health and wellbeing of our communities and we know they have a positive impact on the lives of those we represent”

• We’re tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, with £240,000 being committed to provide temporary accommodation for those who find themselves temporarily homeless.

Cllr. Stokes added; “Homelessness is an issue for all councils and this winter it has been more of an issue for those who have found themselves in this difficult position and officers who have an obligation to support some of the most vulnerable in our borough. It can be a complicated set of circumstances that lead to someone being homeless or sleeping rough where quite often, simply offering a person somewhere to sleep, doesn’t fix the underlying problems. That is why I am pleased that Rugby Borough Council will be committing a further £240 thousand to provide accommodation for residents who find themselves temporarily homeless. Furthermore, we’ll be working closer than ever with partner organisations such as Warwickshire County Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority and local charities, to ensure Rugby Borough Council has all the tools available to best support anyone who finds themselves homeless or sleeping rough.”

We are taking the pressure of our taxpayers;

• The Conservative Administration has lead the way in identifying commercial opportunities and new revenue streams, providing those services we do best to other organisations. In 2018/19 we’ll realise over £1.1million in revenue.
• Services include; Commercial Waste, Council Shared Services, bulky waste collections and lifeline services.

Cllr. Micheal Stokes; “In the last financial year, the Conservative Administration have overseen services being undertaken in the trade waste, bulky waste collections, lifeline services, shared services and fly tipping investigations, which have realised an income of over £1.1 million pounds and that doesn’t include the income from facilities such as the Benn Hall, Crematorium and Green Waste. During the next year and beyond, we’ll be looking to expand and grow these services with many discussions already underway.”

Only The Conservatives truly recognise and invest in our unique heritage;

• Investing in the World Rugby Hall of Fame was a commitment made by all political parties at Rugby Borough Council, but only The Conservatives have truly stood by that commitment and continued to work to make it the best it can be.
• Working closely with World Rugby, we secured a £600,000 investment towards the councils capitol investment of £1.2million (total) over four years. This will see the Hall of Fame presented by a global and prestigious brand who have recognised everything that Rugby can offer to celebrate our heritage.

Cllr. Micheal Stokes repeated his 2016 statement to the Council; “I appreciate that the Hall of Fame is an unknown for Rugby, but we have an opportunity for the World Governing Body of the sport, which is named after our town, to have a physical presence here. We’ve been chosen over Twickenham, Paris and South Africa, to name just a few of the interested parties who also wanted the Hall of Fame. I know it’s a leap of faith, but I would ask that you support me in taking this unique opportunity to truly celebrate and recognise our unique heritage”

He went on to say; “The investment for the Hall of Fame alone is £1.2 million in capital spend over the next four years. We are confident in the support we will get from World Rugby but also recognise that any new attraction will take time to become a fully-fledged visitor destination. We’ve gone into this knowing that it is an affordable and worthwhile investment for our town, but I will make it my business to pursue any sponsorship opportunities possible.”

• A trip to Japan in 2017 was the first step in securing this deal and cost a total of less than £5,000 for both The Leader and Executive Director for all travel, accommodation and expenses.

Cllr Stokes; “I was able to meet with various high-profile people, including, The Mayors and Governors of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Host Cities. The head of the Japanese Rugby World Cup Organising Committee, the head of the Japanese Tourist Board as well as various leading politicians, including the Japanese Prime minster. Anyone who understands the basics of Japanese culture will appreciate the importance of these face to face meetings and their ability to have opened up our ongoing conversations and discussions regarding opportunities for Rugby and the Hall of Fame.”

• Having a headline sponsor in place has now enabled Rugby Borough Council to pursue talks with other interested parties who are looking to invest in the Hall of Fame.

Finally, Cllr Stokes concluded; “The Conservative Budget for 2018/19 is not only balanced, but fair. And will see this council move further towards financial self-sufficiency whilst providing high quality and value for money services and continued investment for the residents of Rugby.”