Sustainable Powys

26 October 2023

Powys County Council is taking a new approach to how it plans and delivers public services in the future.

The Council wants to ensure it can deliver stronger, fairer and greener services going forward, whilst remaining within the available budget.

The Council is currently forecasting more than a £20million gap for the 2024/25 financial year. This is expected to increase to £44 million or more over the next four years. 'Sustainable Powys' is a pro-active approach to address this - reviewing what services are provided and how, whilst working with communities to explore innovative solutions.

Councillor David Thomas, Cabinet Member with portfolio for Sustainable Powys, said: "Delivering valued local government services is at the heart of all we do. With changing times and economic conditions, we need to be innovative and forward-thinking to sustain quality public services and a council for the future.

"The current economic crisis and rising cost of living is increasing the financial pressure and presenting us with a considerable gap in our available finances. Put simply, this means we can't afford to continue delivering our services in the same way."

"In previous years, the Council has looked to services to become more efficient. This is not sustainable in the long-term and we now need to be more radical and change our approach.

"Sustainable Powys is about working together to design a future, and also building resilience so community-led solutions can help meet local need."

Sustainable Powys is at an early stage and further information about the work, and how you can get involved, is to follow in the coming months.