Cheltenham residents to see council tax bills rise
Council votes for increase but rejects tip opening hours extension
Council tax will top £2,145 for Cheltenham residents from April as the Borough Council has approved a 2.99% increase.
The proportion of the total bill which goes towards Cheltenham Borough Council services will rise to £237.68 for the year 2024/25 for band D properties.
The total bill will be at least £2,145.58 – however the final bill for those properties will vary depending on which parish council area they are in, if any.
Finance and assets cabinet member Peter Jeffries (LD, Springbank), who presented the budget, said the last 12 months have been quite turbulent as the council dealt with continuing economic uncertainty and instability has been very challenging.
He said the budget is driven by supporting residents, investing in the town and putting Cheltenham first.
“Our economy is now officially in recession,” he said.
“The cost of living crisis seems to have taken a firm hold.
“Sadly it’s not this crisis which has a direct or indirect impact on our budget but nationally there are an increasing number of severe challenges all of which are interconnected.”
He said the country is facing a crisis of poverty, housing, climate, NHS and the care system.
Schools and the police are also struggling, local authorities are facing unprecedented challenges and funding has reduced by 60 per cent, Cllr Jeffries added.
Tory group leader Tim Harman (C, Park) said no one is denying the pressure councils face which have intensified due to international situations such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The shockwave sent through all economies from the change in energy prices has had a terrible effect,” he said.
He said there have been major investments in the town from the Government and to say the council is being starved of funds is unrealistic.
And his group proposed amendments which included reducing the size of the cabinet by two to save £37,000 and adopt whole elections every four years rather than half elections every two. This proposal would save £25,000.
He wanted that money to be spent to return the Swindon Road household recycling centre to its previous opening hours and spend £22,000 extra on street cleaning.
Cllr Jeffries said the Tory proposals would not be supported. He said there is so much more that the council does now and that is why the cabinet has expanded.
“We are the only district authority running a household recycling centre (HRC). What are we going to sacrifice a cabinet member so we can open the HRC for two more hours? No, I’m sorry. It’s not going to happen.”
Council leader Rowena Hay (LD, Oakley) said the authority has spent £95m on the Golden Valley development while the Government has given a provisionally £20m.
She also said the Borough Council has put in £7m more than the Government towards the Minster Exchange and fund their own development team to the tune of £700,000.
“What this budget shows is that we are growing our economy with more jobs,” she said.
“It’s all about securing our future and that of our young people.
The council voted to approve the budget by 24 votes in favour and four abstentions.