Budget set for the Broads

The budget is based on a projected income of £6.695m, with just over £4m from Government grant and £2.68 million from the charges levied on boat owners using the Broads.

It is hoped that a bid for €900,000 from Europe to support innovative approaches to dredging and a financial contribution to care for the How Hill National Nature Reserve will boost the Authority’s income.

The largest components in the expenditure of £6.9m will be spent on dredging and maintaining the navigation area, over £1m. The Authority is continuing with its planned programme to remove 50,000m3 of silt from the system per annum.

Approximately £750,000 will be spent on managing the fragile fen areas for their conservation value and improving the water quality in isolated broads. Patrolling and looking after the rivers and broads and sites used by the public accounts for a further £620,000. The Authority’s grant giving Sustainable Development Fund continues with £150,000 allocated for this purpose.

The preparation of the budget has been particularly difficult this year because of the scale of the projected reduction in Government Grant and the need to review the allocation of costs between its different lines of expenditure. The cutback in Defra’s contribution to the Authority has consequences for the balance of activity within its work.

A greater proportion of staff effort will be spent on navigation functions, and the contributions that National Park Grant and navigation income make to shared costs have had to be rebalanced. A system that favours navigation expenditure to the tune of around £30,000 compared to that set out in the agreement with the national boating organisations has been unanimously agreed by the Authority’s Navigation Committee and adopted by the Authority.