Family historians in Burnley will now be charged a grave finding fee

The new fee of £35 is part of a Burnley Council strategy to find £255,000 of extra savings and revenue by the end of 2027.

The blueprint was approved by the authority’s ruling executive on Wednesday night. The budget-balancing proposals include charging a fee for grave searches requested by genealogist’s researching family history etc to raise £7,000 a year.

Other savings proposals include cutting the council’s postage budget by £10,000, cutting the annual grant to Burnley and Pendle Citizens Advice Bureau by £2,000 and reducing the general grant to the Council for Voluntary Services by £6,000 in 2025/26 and 2026/27.

The report to the executive expects that income from the commercial waste service will grow in £40,000 over the next three years by gaining new customers in Pioneer Place, Charter Walk and Vision Park, an increase in interest income by an additional £150,000 by 2027 due to the increases in base rate, and an extra £13,000 in fees for Towneley Park concessions.

It says that the new savings and income generation plans come on top of £23,000 already agreed at the Full Council meeting earlier this year.

The report predicts a budget shortfall £200,000 in 2024/25, £500,000 in 2025/26 and £200,000 in 2026/27 totalling £900,000 unless urgent steps are taken.

It warns that future local government salary agreements, inflation and changes in Whitehall grants to the council could worsen any shortfall.

Even with the savings proposed the authority will need to find an extra £700,000 by March 2027.

In a separate report, the executive was told the first quarter revenue budget outturn was showing a predicted overspend of £243,000 for 2023/24.

Finance boss Coun. Sue Graham said she expected that figure to reduce to parity by the end of the financial year and said she expected parking income for the council to increase from the opening of the Pioneer Place shopping and leisure complex which was proving to be ‘extremely popular’.