Council tax should rise only if there’s no other way

THE new Local Plan is a critical document for the future of the Valley. Even if you don’t live near one of the proposed developments, it could well impact on your life – which is why everyone needs to have their say on what is contained in it.

In last week’s column, I suggested that perhaps the government should consider compensating Rossendale Council for the projected £20m it will miss out on after the government blocked an expansion to the Scout Moor windfarm.

I also suggested that perhaps council tax rises should now be taken for granted, given that the cost of providing services does go up with inflation.

A few people on Facebook disagreed with me on both points – indeed, perhaps the first time this column has been criticised for sticking up for the council!

I do think it is worth remembering that while the planning inquiry inspector was the person who proposed overturning Rossendale’s planning approval for the Scout Moor extension, it is ultimately the secretary of state who decides whether to support that proposal.

In doing so, communities secretary Sajid Javid has caused Rossendale Council a fresh financial headache, on top of the ongoing spending cuts his department is pushing through.

I still don’t think Rossendale Council was banking on the money, as some have suggested, but just flagging up that it could be coming.

The fact the government has now blocked a revenue source should at least provide the council with the chance to ask for a bit of leniency when the next round of cuts come.

The council leader Alyson Barnes has said council tax may have to rise as a result. I don’t think it’s too much for us to assume that council tax has to rise anyway.

I don’t say that because I want it to rise, or because I can afford for it to rise more than anyone else.

But the cost of providing services does go up every year. It’s down to the council to justify that it’s exhausted every other option before putting council taxes up. In other words, it’s down to the council to prove that its financial management is so sound it has no other choice but to ask us for more.

Recent developments, most notably the Empty Homes Scandal, may make that a tall order I guess.