Full tax rise as Labour defeat Tory freeze bid
HYNDBURN council is to increase its portion of council tax by the maximum 1.99 per cent from April 1 after Labour councillors defeated a Tory bid to freeze it.
The decision by the budget meeting last Thursday night means its part of the bill for a Band D family home will rise by £5.11 a year and Band A terraced houses, which make up the majority of the borough’s housing stock, will go up by £3.40 annually.
Tory leader Coun Marlene Haworth told the three-hour meeting in Accrington Town Hall: “Following a miserable two years which has resulted in terrible hardship across the borough, the Conservative group ask that the controlling
Labour group look to ease their burden by freezing the council tax this year.
“The cost would be approximately £108,000 taken from our revenue reserves which is achievable and we believe would go a long way in helping
them.”
Council leader Coun Miles Parkinson rejected the proposal, saying it would disrupt the council’s carefully-crafted budget and medium-term financial strategy.
He said: “The vast majority of households in Hyndburn will only see a rise of less than seven pence per week.
“This is only the sixth increase in council tax by this council in 13 years.”
The Conservatives also tried to secure a £100,000 one-off spending from revenue reserves to be given to an organisation within Hyndburn borough ‘to provide additional mental health counselling services for those who have been waiting more than six months for help’.
The opposition group moved a third amendment to use £500,000 of capital reserves to replace and refurbish parks and playgrounds across the borough such as ones in Rishton and Netherton wards.
Coun Haworth said: “Our green spaces need to be preserved and the wellbeing of our children looked after.”
Both amendments were defeated. Coun Parkinson said that while the requests for cash for counselling and spending on play areas ‘tugged at the heartstrings’ they were not affordable.
The budget and council tax rise was then passed unanimously with Tory support.
Coun Haworth said: “We think this is a good budget.
“Our amendments were to make it a bit better.”
Coun Parkinson said the budget was bold and ambitious and underpinned by ‘strong financial control’.
Lancashire County Council is increasing its share of council tax, the majority of the bill, by 3.99 per cent.
The police commissioner will increase his levy on a Band D Property by £10 and the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority by £5.