INSTALLING cameras to catch people driving in bus lanes is among the money making ideas being considered to help plug a funding gap of more than £25m at County Hall.

Oxfordshire County Council is looking at introducing a range of new charges to avoid having to make further cuts to jobs and services.

The authority has already made £119m of savings and cuts over the last three years, but following a Government announcement earlier this year it will have to make at least £25m more in 2014/15.

New cabinet member for finance Arash Fatemian said he has not ruled out charging for anything, but said his “moral compass” will stop it affecting the most vulnerable.

He said: “We are looking for ideas. Why don’t we put an enforcement camera on the Botley Road and catch people who are mis-using the bus lane?

“At the moment, the police enforce that and they take the money.”

He said other roads along with Botley Road could have traffic enforcement cameras installed, but said there would have to be a “business case” for each.

A 90-minute police operation on June 12 saw 19 drivers fined £30 for illegally using the bus lane in Botley Road.

Renting out County Hall as a wedding venue and charging other councils for financial services are some of the other ideas being looked at.

Mr Fatemian said: “We are always going to protect those most in need and most vulnerable.

“I have got a clear moral compass of where we should and should not charge.

“We are never going to become Oxfordshire County Council Limited, and that’s not what we are looking to do.

“We are living in a challenging financial situation and as part of addressing that we are looking at ways to generate income to make that less challenging.”

The Conservative-led council already makes about £102m a year in income from charges in areas like parking and day centres.

Council officers were told at a meeting this week to produce a list of what the council can and cannot charge for.

Recommendations are expected to be put to cabinet in December for approval by the full council in February.

Last month, the council said the additional savings following the Chancellor’s last spending review would be at least £25m, but Mr Fatemian said the final figure would “probably exceed that quite significantly”. He said the changes would not see charges increased across the board and said he “would be surprised” if the £25m gap could be filled through income generation alone, with savings making up the difference.

Opposition councillors said it comes down to a choice between charging more or cutting more. Liberal Democrat councillor Zoé Patrick said: “We have got to think of ways of raising money because we are not allowed to put the council tax up above 1.99 per cent, so that puts pressure on the whole budget.

“It depends on what the charges are for, but increasing charges will have to be looked at. Otherwise it is even more jobs going – it is one or the other.”

But Mark McArthur-Christie, director of bike campaign group Two Wheels Better, said: “If they are putting the camera up to make money rather than to deter people or keep traffic moving, that is very dangerous precedent.

“I think they need to be very careful because the perception of a lot of drivers is that as soon as the council needs money they are the first point of call.”

 

Previous Rises

  • Park and ride - daily charges of £3 a day at Thornhill and Water Eaton were introduced earlier this year, netting £150,000 a year.
  • Day centres - charges to rise from £4.18 per day to £15, with the increases phased over the next three years from September, eventually making £400,000 a year.
  • Home-to-school transport - charges proposed for parents who don’t choose nearest school, to make £340,000 a year. Plans shelved earlier this month.

New Plans

  • Enforcement cameras in locations like Botley Road to generate fine income from people who mis-use bus lanes.
  • Renting out County Hall as a wedding venue.
  • Offering a paid-for internal auditing service to parish and town councils.
  • Renting out disused council land and buildings.

Previous Cuts

  • In February this year the county council revealed £51m service cuts:
  • £1.01m was cut from the road maintenance budget between 2015 and 2017
  • Council tax was increased by two per cent
  • Parking charges were increased at park-and-ride services
  • Cancellation of area stewardship fund, saving £1.09m from 2014
  • Reduced staffing and office costs in the chief executive’s office, saving £2 83,000.