Charnwood Element of Council Tax to Rise by Less than 9p a Week

By in News

Charnwood Borough Council has agreed to raise its share of council tax by less than 9p a week for a Band D property.

 

The increase was agreed at full Council on Monday 21st February where 31 councillors voted in favour of the increase and eight voted against.

 

The increase will see the annual charge for the Charnwood element of an average Band D property rise by £4.61 (3.52 per cent) to £135.69 from 1st April 2022.

 

The Loughborough Special Rate, the equivalent of a parish precept in villages and paid by residents of the town, will rise by £1.55 a year (1.99 per cent) to £79.53 for the year, from April 1, 2022.

The Charnwood element of council tax bills accounts for less than 10 per cent of the total average bill.

Cllr Tom Barkley, lead member for finance and property services, said: “We continue to work hard to make our services as effective and as efficient as possible to minimise the impact on residents. I am confident we are delivering value for money and as I have said before, it is worth noting that the Charnwood element of council tax accounts for less than 10 per cent of your total bill. For that, we provide scores of services, from the operation of leisure centres and markets to the emptying of bins and management of open spaces.”

Some other examples of the Council’s everyday operations funded by the budget include:

  • Emptying wheelie bins around 4 million times a year
  • Operating three leisure centres
  • Providing 1,500 residents with advice and assistance on their housing options
  • Organising physical activity programmes accessed around 10,000 times a year
  • Welcoming  50,000 visitors to Loughborough Town Hall and 18,000 visitors to  Charnwood Museum in a year
  • Holding over 200 markets a year in Loughborough
  • Dealing with 3,000 applications for various building and planning control consents each year
  • Organising major events such as Loughborough Fair and Loughborough’s Christmas Lights Swich-on
  • Operating two business centres
  • Managing award-winning public conveniences
  • Maintaining 617 acres of open spaces including the award-winning Queen’s Park and the Outwoods.

The final Council budget for 2022/23 is around £17.9 million. This includes making  savings, generating extra income through fees and charges and using some reserves.

The savings include amending the opening hours of the Council’s reception and the telephone contact centre and not reintroducing the Shopmobility scheme in Loughborough. Charges for the garden waste service and bulky waste collections will also increase. More details are available at www.charnwood.gov.uk/budgetsummary.

People on low incomes can apply for Local Council Tax Support. This gives up to an 85 per cent reduction on the whole council tax bill.