Coronavirus crisis lands Mid Sussex with £8.3million bill

The council says that extra spending to support local communities - as well as a loss of income because of the virus - will cost £8.3 million over the next four years.

And, it says, it would have been even more if it had not received cash help from the Government.

A spokesman said: “Coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis and the uncertainties surrounding it make planning for the future extremely challenging for local authorities.

“Over the past six months the council has responded quickly to help support residents and businesses, taking on new responsibilities, but it is impossible to know how long this extra work will be required.

“The extra spending required to support local communities, coupled with a significant loss of income because of the virus, means there is huge pressure on council budgets.

“It is predicted that, even considering financial support provided by central Government, the pandemic will cost the council £8.3 million over the next four years.”

The council says it now won’t be able to undertake all projects and services in the way they were envisioned before the coronavirus outbreak and a 2revised corporate plan is required.”

The council is looking at using its reserves and to make £1million savings over the next four years.

Council leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards said: “Coronavirus has been an unprecedented crisis with an uncertain outlook and it’s clear that the virus will be a fact of life for some time to come.

“We’re fortunate as a council to be able to use our financial reserves to help us cope in the short-term but this cannot be forever, and we must start working now to generate revenue savings, balance our budget and protect our services for the future.

“This revised corporate plan and budget is vital to help us concentrate on what our communities need most to help them through this crisis.

“Our focus is firmly on how we can support the Mid Sussex area to recover from the impacts of this pandemic as quickly as possible.

“We want to create a positive environment that will attract new businesses and investors to Mid Sussex, provide grants that will support existing businesses to adapt to a post pandemic world and deliver the full fibre digital infrastructure that’s necessary to enable business to flourish.

“One of the positives to come out of the pandemic is the way it has shown our community at its best, with many residents making enormous efforts to support their family, friends and neighbours through the crisis.

“It’s vitally important for us as a council to support the many voluntary organisations that enable us to have such strong and resilient communities.”

At the height of the crisis the council distributed business support grants to local firms, supported community hubs to help individuals and families in need, increased provision for the homeless to get them off the streets and into accommodation, and provided advice and support to shops to allow them to open safely while following social distancing guidelines.