Borough’s Council Tax to rise by 3.63pc

CHARNWOOD Borough Council has agreed to raise its share of Council Tax.

The increase will see the annual charge for an average Band D property rise £4.43 (3.63 per cent) to £126.52 from April 1, 2020.

The Loughborough Special Rate, the equivalent of a parish precept in villages and paid by residents of the town, will increase for the first time since 2016 to £76.46 a year.

The increase was agreed at a meeting of the full council on Monday February 24.

At the meeting 33 councillors were in favour of the increase, 13 were against and there was one abstention.

Coun Tom Barkley, lead member for finance and property services, said: “We put forward what we believed to be a reasonable increase to protect our frontline services as local government funding continues to decrease.

“The Loughborough Special Rate will increase for the first time in four years.

“Even with these increases, we will still have one of the lowest council tax rates in the country.

“This increase will not cover the reduction in government funding. That’s why we are planning to use some of our reserves and developing plans to increase our income from other sources such as through investment in commercial property.

“We remain committed to delivering excellent services to residents and we will continue to ensure they are running as efficiently as possible.”

Charnwood Borough Council says that currently it has the 23rd lowest council tax charge out of 201 district councils in the country.

Council Tax pays for a range of services provided Charnwood Borough Council, Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire Police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and the parish council where you live (or Charnwood Borough Council for people in Loughborough).

The Charnwood element accounts for less than 10 per cent of the total bill.

For more information about the budget, see the February 24 report to council.