SPENDING on capital projects in the borough is to soar over the next three years.
Council borrowing to finance projects such as a new local authority HQ in Bangor, will rise from £76.3m this year to over £144m in three years’ time.
Around £20m is to be taken from council reserves to offset the huge rise, but nevertheless the cost of financing this huge increase in borrowing will be the second biggest annual expenditure for councillors after salaries.
The local authority is preparing to embark on a series of major capital projects across the borough including £20m for the council’s new civic and administrative headquarters and £7m to replace the council’s petrol and diesel vehicles to comply with environmental legislation.
Funding for other major schemes includes £8.1m on cemeteries, £6.5m for a new Newtownards Citizens’ Hub at Queen’s Hall, £6.5m for a new sports project, including a 3G pitch, in Portaferry, and £3m on a 3G pitch in Portavogie.
Also over the next three years, a total of £5m is to be spent on Bangor Castle with a further £2.5m earmarked for the storm-battered roof of Bangor’s Aurora Leisure Centre.
As part of the £72m Bangor Waterfront redevelopment scheme £3.9m will be spent on Bangor Marina, £3.2m on Ballyholme Yacht Club, £3.1m on the urban waterfront and £1.3m on Pickie Fun Park.
Other major projects include £841,603 for the extension of the greenway from Comber to Newtownards, £265,988 for Whitespots Country Park, and £33,932 for Comber’s 3G Pitch.
A total of £13,625,000 is to be spent on what’s labelled ‘council strategies’. This includes £7m for replacement vehicles, £3.4m for playpark refurbishments, £1.5m for the replacement of artificial pitches and £700,000 on replacement parks and cemeteries equipment.
Also included in the local authority’s strategies are £550,000 on replacement ICT hardware and £450,000 on older children’s play provision. Other schemes which are on the cards are the £1m Movilla Cemetery Extension and a further £1m for the tree and woodland strategy.
Speaking at the special council meeting when the district rate was struck, Alderman Philip Smith said it was ‘valuable’ to highlight the rise in the council’s capital finance figures.
“The capital finance requirement is going to increase from £76.3m this year to £144.6m in 2029, which is a £68m increase in almost three years, almost double,” said the UUP group party leader.
“Capital is our second largest revenue spend after payroll which means an annual 1.45% increase in rates before we even look at inflationary pressures. So capital finance costs will likely grow from 14.4% of revenue to 15.9% in 2028/29.”
Turning to risk management and an increase in interest rates, Mr Smith said: “If interest rates went up 1% that would be a £35,000 increase in our revenue requirements. When we get to 2028/29 a 1% increase would mean we would have to find £539,000 for every 1%.”
The Comber alderman said the council was ‘content’ to invest 1.45% each year within the annual rate increase but said there were other costs of officer time and project management to be considered.
He said that while the council had the £144m spend requirement over the next three years, they were ‘fortunate’ to have additional partner funding which brought together a £250m development plan for a ‘significant agenda of work’.
