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Colchester residents face misery of 48% council tax hike in next 5 years |
Colchester’s council tax will likely need to rise by 48% within five years due to vast debts being racked up in the latest budget set by the Lib Dems and voted through by Labour at the annual budget setting meeting at the Town Hall on Wednesday 26 February.
The warning comes from the Conservative Opposition, which has the largest group of councillors at Colchester City Council.
The Conservatives, who have 19 councillors after last week’s by-election win in Tiptree, are denied control by Labour who are in an unofficial coalition with the Lib Dem administration.
Many pensioners, and others on fixed incomes, will be hardest hit. The most vulnerable are already £300 worse off under the Labour Government, which instantly axed the Winter Fuel Allowance after last year’s General Election, leaving many fearful of heating their homes.
Conservative Group Leader on Colchester City Council, Paul Dundas (Tiptree Ward), said: “The Conservatives proposed an alternative budget cutting the debt by £51million so council taxpayers aren’t saddled with eye-watering rises in their council tax. But most Lib Dem and Labour councillors combined to vote it down.”
Councillor William Sunnucks, Conservative finance spokesman, (Rural North Ward) said: “Our budget would reduce the Council’s debts and get housebuilding moving by selling the Council’s site at Mill Road, which already has planning permission for 350 new homes, including affordable houses, and a variety of employment uses.
Four years after the Rugby Club moved and the land was ready for development but not a single house has been built. Lib Dems promised to get building a year ago, banking on a Labour Government writing a blank cheque. But nothing has happened, and it remains a wasteland.
The Council owes £32m for relocating the Colchester Rugby Club from its former ground at Mill Road and building Colchester North sports park. It’s already costing residents £2.7m each year in interest charges and the bill keeps rising. It is money down the drain, which could otherwise have been spent on better services for residents.”
The Conservatives’ alternative budget was fully costed and shared with other parties in good time, as well as avoiding a huge future rise in council tax it would have benefitted all residents by:
• Keeping our streets and green spaces neat and tidy by reversing the Lib Dem’s proposed cuts of £230,000
• Safeguarding coastal communities like Mersea by allocating £100,000 towards the Council’s neglected sea defence obligations
• Investing £500,000 in promoting tourism and enhancing access to the City’s ancient heritage bringing in tourists
• Providing £200,000 for new playgrounds and outdoor adult exercise facilities
Conservative Councillors pledge to keep council spending under proper control.
2025-02-26
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