Shropshire County Council has announced a plan to use £19m of reserves help offset a £37m funding gap predicted for its 2021/22 budget.
The council’s medium term financial strategy, published this week, said the council would balance its 2020/21 budget by using £30m of grants from central government, including New Homes Bonus, Improved Better Care Funding, and extra social care funding.
However, its strategy assumes that it won’t receive any central government grants next year, and will use a £19m emergency reserve set up to assist with any potential funding shortfall when the Fair Funding Review is implemented.
The council also said that it hopes to raise more cash by repurposing the Pride Hill Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury, which it purchased in 2018 for leisure uses.
It said that this would “address the structural changes in the retail market which [are] being experienced across the country”.
