Council tax increase agreed

Charnwood Borough Council agreed to raise its share of council tax earlier in the week.

Charnwood Borough Council's agreed to raise its share of council tax.

It means the increase will be less than 9p a week for a band D property.

It was agreed at a full council meeting earlier in the week.

The Loughborough special rate will also increase for the first time in four years to £76.46 a year.

Councillor 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.”

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.