Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Coalition cuts - the impact on High Peak, so far.

Just a few examples of how Coalition cuts are already hitting the people of High Peak:

  1. £5m - £8m lost to The Crescent development following the axing of East Midlands Development Agency.
  2. £244,000 – lost Housing and Planning Delivery Grant, LABGI (Local Authority Business Grant Initiative) – included in HPBC budget for 2010/2011, the equivalent of approx 5% on the council tax.
  3. £310,000 for five affordable homes on West Drive in Tintwistle.
  4. £948,000 Kickstart funding for 30 affordable homes in Harpur Hill, Buxton.
  5. Glossop’s new George Street Health Centre – will not perform minor operations.
  6. Buxton's new Community Hospital – now seems unlikely to go ahead.
  7. The Tintwistle-Mottram bypass - in all its variations.
All of these projects would also have been a boost for the local economy, for local builders and suppliers - and would have created jobs.

And then there is the individual impact on both people and businesses of the 20% VAT rise; changes to housing benefit, tax credits and job seekers allowance; the cuts in university places; the ending of the Future Jobs Fund.