RYEDALE District Council stands to receive more than £1m through the Government’s New Homes Bonus scheme next year which will benefit thousands of householders.

Paul Cresswell, the district council’s strategy director, said the current proposals were that the money would be “drip-fed” into the council’s budget plans over a number of years to help offset major reductions in Government funding and to protect council services.

Some of the money already received under the scheme, which rewards councils for supporting new housing developments, has been used to fund apprenticeship initiatives in Ryedale.

Mr Cresswell said that while final figures of Government funding for the district council would not be known until just before Christmas, indicative figures had already been assessed by council chiefs for the next financial year starting in April.

The council will consider at its meeting tomorrow (Thursday) the idea to generate more income by charging for the removal of green waste which could mean £280,000 in savings, with a further potential £54,000 coming from the proposed streamlining of tourist information centres (TICSs) in Ryedale.

Councillor Linda Cowling, district council leader, said that about a third of all district councils in the country already charged for removing garden waste.

“We are in a strong financial position as a council thanks to careful forward planning by officers and members. However, the pressure is expected to continue for some time.”

The council is expected to make a further saving by halving its £65,000 grant given to scores of parish and town councils in Ryedale, following the introduction of Localised Council Tax Support, and expects to axe it altogether in 2015-16.

• Ryedale District Council’s share of the council tax bill will rise by 7p a week and not 7 per cent as stated in a headline in last week’s Gazette. We apologise for the error.