Colchester residents are bracing for increased rent and council tax, adding financial pressure despite the council’s claims of a balanced budget
Colchester: Residents in this Essex city are in for a bit of a shock. They’re facing higher bills for rent, council tax, and parking. The council says they’ve balanced the budget, but it sure doesn’t feel that way.
So, here’s the scoop: the council is looking to raise housing rent by 2.7%. That’s about an extra £11 a month. Last year, they also hiked council tax by 7.7%. Now, rent is expected to jump from around £433 to £444 monthly.
On top of that, there’s a proposed council tax increase of 2.99%. If it goes through, the monthly bill for a Band D property will rise from £217.92 to £224.44. And don’t forget about parking—most car park fees are set to go up by at least 3%.
For example, at Butt Road Car Park, the daily rate will climb from £3.80 to £4.20. If you’re a regular, season tickets will also see a bump, going from £920 to £950 a year. Napier Road Car Parks will see similar increases.
The council claims that government funding was lower than expected, but they did get some extra cash for homelessness and other grants, which they say helped balance the budget. They’ll be discussing all this at a cabinet meeting on January 29.
In their meeting papers, they mentioned that the provisional local government finance settlement was less than anticipated. They secured some additional funding, but there’s still uncertainty about how much they’ll get to cover rising costs, like national insurance contributions.
