Councillors agree to a maximum tax increase
HYNDBURN councillors have agreed to increase the authority’s share of the council tax by the maximum permitted 2.99 per cent at a marathon meeting.
The three-hour debate at Accrington Town Hall on Tuesday night saw eight Labour-inspired amendments to the borough budget defeated.
The rise follows Lancashire County Council - which provides key services including education, highways and children’s an adult social care - approve a maximum 5.99 per cent rise last week.
With this increase -and rises in the special levies to pay for the police and fire services - a typical Band A terraced house in Hyndburn will pay a total council tax bill of £1,513.23 in the year from April 1.
The new annual figure for a Band D semidetached family home for 2024/25 is £2,269.85.
Properties in Altham will pay a small extra parish council precept.
Moving the Conservative administration’s budget acting council leader and finance boss Cllr Peter Britcliffe said: “We have laid the foundations of an unprecedented regeneration of the borough.
“The direction is set and we now propose to stay on track with a package that will continue to invest in our people, our regeneration and our future.”
The meeting rejected three Labour-inspired amendments endorsed by the council’s Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
To spend £36,000 on joining the Local Government Association ‘ Pathway to Planning’ graduate recruitment programme;
To increase the grant to the Citizens’ Advice
Bureau in 2024/25 by £10,000
And to place a skip in every ward twice a year for community clean ups at a cost of £19,000.
Councillors then voted down five Labour group amendments:
To develop a new policy framework for houses in multiple occupation and small care homes at a cost of £25,000;
To remove ‘the rat tax’ and return the pest control service to being free costing £10,000;
To create ‘Bark Parks’ for dog owners on spare council land;
To review the borough’s housing stock before a bid to become a pilot area for retro-fitting ‘green’ improvements at a cost of £50,000;
And implementing a community energy programme costing £50,000
Labour group leader Cllr Munsif Dad said: “These amendments focus on residents’ concerns and will make a tangible difference in Hyndburn’s townships.
“Let us champion initiatives that promote a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future for Hyndburn.”
Labour finance spokesman Cllr Noordad Aziz said: “The 2.99 per cent increase in council tax contradicts previous assurances by Cllr Britcliffe, who initially stated it would only to be a rise of two per cent.
“At a time when Hyndburn residents are grappling with a cost of living crisis caused by the Conservative government crashing the economy this means further residents having to make the difficult choice eating or heating.
“In summary, the Conservative-led budget falls short of addressing the pressing needs of Hyndburn residents and instead reflects a lack of vision and ambition.”
Cllr Britcliffe said: “”The Labour amendments are like the Labour
group itself, simply barking. We cannot trust the costings. What would they take out of the budget to pay for them?”
The meeting saw the return of borough leader Cllr Marlene Haworth to council business following recovery from a stroke in December but she told councillors she was not yet fit to take up her leadership duties.