NORTH Devon Council will have to buy more properties to provide temporary accommodation and maximise its assets if it is to plug a forecasted budget gap of £4 million by 2030.

It has acquired 13 properties to help house homeless people, which it claims is one of its success stories, having secured £1.7 million from the government towards it.

It says that providing homes rather than B&Bs saves £10,000 a year per property.

Its purchase of Green Lanes shopping centre in Barnstaple in 2021 has also been deemed a good move and is expected to make £1 million in profit by April.

But it will need to generate more income in the future.

The council will not have to cut services in the next financial year to balance its budget, provided council tax rises by 2.99 per cent, the maximum possible without holding a referendum, its strategy and resources committee was told.

It means a £6.29 a year increase for average Band D households and will be added to the rest of the council tax which includes the amount set by county and parish councils, police and fire services.

The tax brings in more than £8 million for North Devon Council, just under half its budget.

An extra £350,000 from tax on second homes, which starts in April, is included in the figures.

The North Devon district has more second homes that other areas of Devon, except the South Hams.

It aims to use this portion of income on addressing the housing crisis.

The council’s director of resources and deputy chief executive Jon Triggs said a predicted half a million pound shortfall for the council in 2025/26 had been closed, but officers had to use £164,000 from a reserve fund to help.

He said there are “challenges ahead” and the council needs to be get the best use out of Green Lanes and other assets and any new ones which it might acquire.

“We need to do this alongside looking at more properties for temporary accommodation to mitigate the cost pressures,” he said.

Officers are predicting a budget gap of £1.5 million in 2026/27 which will rise to £4 million by 2030.

Local authorities have suffered a drop in core government funding since 2010 and North Devon has been fighting for a fairer settlement for rural councils which receive 40 per cent less funding per head of population than urban authorities.

Mr Triggs added that whatever local government reorganisation was in store – Labour’s plans expect to spell the end for county and district councils in favour of fewer larger unitary authorities – it is “important we carry on as a viable business that is sustainable for the future, until such times as we know any different.”

He called the budget for 2025/26 “prudent and responsible”. It includes a three per cent salary rise for staff, three per cent rise on fees and charges to cover inflation, six per cent rise on cemetery charges to bring them “closer in line with comparative figures around the county” and a freeze on garden waste collections at £60 following £5 increases in the last two years.

Car park charge increases, which will hour-long stays rise by 10 pence, will bring in an extra £350,000.

The council has a £36 million capital investment programme over the next three years, with more than half 50 funded by external grants.

The largest project is the £3.7 million revamp at Brynsworthy Environmental Centre and waste management facility which should future-proof the council for any changes it wants to make to collection services.

New equipment will process six times as much recyclable material, which is expected generate more income and the site will be reconfigured to make it easier for vehicles and new office space provided for staff.

The Seven Brethren flood defence scheme in Barnstaple, the town’s bus station refurbishment, ongoing high street works and cultural development also form part of the capital programme.

Cllr Caroline Leaver (Lib Dem, Newport) said balancing the budget is “an act of enormous skill” given the financial challenges.

The full council is expected to approve the budget and council tax later this month.

Alison Stephenson