Council tax bills will rise for households across Nuneaton and Bedworth

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It follows a four-and-a-half hour long meeting last night at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council



Council tax bills will rise for households across Nuneaton and Bedworth - but the final amount will not be known until next week.

During what was an almost four-and-a-half hour long meeting last night, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council set its share of the council tax bill - 1.99 per cent or £4.85 on the average band D property.

But the final rise amount will not be set until February 22 because the borough council said it is still waiting for the official precept from Warwickshire Police.

Council tax bills are made up from three precepts - one from the borough council, one from Warwickshire County Council and one from the police - and the Town Hall has said it is yet to receive official confirmation from the police about its share.

So a special sub-committee will be held at the Town Hall on Tuesday, February 22 which will set the final bill that each householder will pay from April.

The ruling Conservatives proposed what was only their second budget in more than 40 years after sweeping to power during the local elections in May last year.

Councillor Sam Croft, cabinet member for finance, said it was a budget that has got the borough 'b ack in the black and back on track' having been forced to make £3.7m savings, including a 'legacy deficit' of £1.5m, to balance the books.

He added that it was a long-term budget, with six key tasks - to balance the books; support the local economy; give local young people the chance to improve their lives; revive civic pride; regenerate the borough; and reform the council.

Among the proposals were the council tax rise, which was the government minimum, and others include:

Spend

• Car parking charges to become £1.50 for three hours - a change compared to the pre-pandemic £1 for one hour, £1.80 for two hours and £2.80 for three hours.
  
• Market rents to be reduced for Nuneaton traders
  
• New street market in Bedworth town centres on Tuesdays and Fridays, to compliment the existing indoor market.
  
• Extra black and recycling bin rounds to cope with the increasing number of new houses in the borough
  
• Drug and alcohol checks on all council staff following allegations of drug-taking and dealing at the Gresham Road council depot last year
  
• A Youth Employment Scheme, which will give young people the chance to register for paid work opportunities with local businesses and the council. This could lead to permanent jobs.
  
• Cash to prevent homelessness - giving early intervention to those who are at risk of losing their homes
  
• £20,000 for Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
  
• Investment into new equipment for parks and play areas
  
• A new regeneration team to help drive the Transforming Nuneaton project as well as future plans for Bedworth
  
• Long-term investment into the Bridge to Living project as well as the Abbey Street regeneration - including the new Hampton by Hilton Hotel and the Vicarage Street plans for a new library, office and business quarter.

Savings

• Allowing the Civic Hall to remain as a vaccination centre for another year. This has caused controversy in the community and led to a petition to allow it to return to being used for the arts.
  
• Deleting vacant posts, disposing of yet-to-be revealed 'unnecessary' council assets
  
• Renting out office space in the Town Hall to bring in cash
  
• Removing council control from Stockingford and Keresley community centres - another controversial plan with those who use the centres.
  
• Increasing the charge for Bedworth market to £9 for regular stalls and £10 for casuals
  
• Axing the in-house pest control service
  
• Increasing the mobile home charges by 14 per cent

The opposing Labour group did not propose a full alternative budget, but did propose some amendments to the Tory budget.

Debate was held initially held on the Labour amendment and it was lost -with three in favour, 25 against and one abstention.

Then the debate moved to the Conservative budget and it was voted in favour- with 25 in favour and four against.

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Multi-million pound plans for more council houses to tackle Nuneaton and Bedworth's growing waiting list



Multi-million pound plans have been unveiled for more council houses to tackle Nuneaton and Bedworth's growing waiting list.

By her own admission, councillor Clare Golby, cabinet member for housing and communities at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, is concerned about the amount of people who are stuck waiting to get a council property.

"I am not happy with the amount of people waiting on our lists, it is not right," she told the council's annual budget setting meeting.

With this in mind, she unveiled the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for not only the next financial year, but also future proposals, which include 'aggressive' council house building.

The council has a 30-year plan to build 1,300 new homes but she wants to accelerate this - and build at least 240 new homes within the next five years.

Another way in which the council aims to reduce the growing waiting list is to sort out the number of unwanted council properties, known as voids, that currently are not in use.

Many of these void properties are within what are called 'independent living schemes', including sheltered housing, for the over-55s.

One way the council plans to bring these 'voids' back into use and for them to become homes for those who need them, is for them to be upgraded.

There are already plans to transform the former Byford Court bedsits into apartments.

"Over the next five years we plan significant capital investments to deliver almost 240 dwellings and continued investment in exciting stock, it is anticipated around £22m in our independent living schemes," said Cllr Golby.

"This is something I am really excited about. Most of these independent living schemes have been built for quite some time, in the 1970s and are not fit for purpose now, so we need to make them more appropriate for the way people live today, so we are going to bring them back into use.

"Most of the voids we have are in independent living, it is not good.

"When we actually tackle the voids, we are also reversing the rent loss because of the voids, we are not making any money on them. Not only that, the HRA has to pay £200 extra Council Tax on every void property we have.

"So, not only are we going to generate funds from re-renting the properties, we will also be having a cost saving on the Council Tax, so it is a win-win."

The HRA budget was discussed as part of last week's budget setting meeting at the Town Hall.

As it is separate to the general fund budget, it had to debated separately and the HRA plans, which also include a 4.1 per cent rise in council house rent and other fees and charges, were unanimously agreed.

During the meeting, the borough council set its share of the Council Tax bill but the actual bill for householders will be finalised at a meeting on February 22.

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Exactly how much more householders across Nuneaton and Bedworth will pay in council tax



Council tax bills have finally been set for householders across Nuneaton and Bedworth - and this is how much more you will have to pay.

Despite the borough council's budget being set on February 14, the official council tax was not set until a meeting at the Town Hall last night (February 22).

This is because the borough council was awaiting official confirmation from the police on their share of the bill - which is made up of so-called precepts from the Town Hall, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police.

Now CoventryLive can reveal how much more householders across the borough will pay from the start of April.

The new yearly bill for every band

• Band A - will rise from £1,353.42 to £1,401.43 - a rise of £48.01 per year
  
• Band B - will rise from £1,578.99 to £1,635.01 - a rise of £56.02 per year
  
• Band C will rise from £1,804.56 to £1,868.58 - a rise of £64.02 per year
  
• Band D will rise from £2,030.13 to £2,102.15 - a rise of £72.02 per year
  
• Band E will rise from £2,481.27 to £2,569.29 - a rise of £88.02 per year
  
• Band F will rise from £2,932.41 to £3,036.44 - a rise of £104.03 per year
  
• Band G will rise from £3,383.55 to £3,503.58 - a rise of £120.03 per year
  
• Band H will rise from £4,060.26 to £4,204.30 - a rise of £144.04 per year

Government Council Tax rebate

As we reported in our newsletter, the government announced a £150 council tax rebate to help households pay rising energy bills.

The Treasury has announced that anyone living in properties in bands A, B, C and D will be able to claim the £150 rebate - and the government says this covers around 80 per cent of all homes.

You can check your council tax band here.

If you're eligible, the money won't need to be paid back and will be issued directly be councils from April.

Exactly how this will be implemented has yet to be announced by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.

[dutchman]

I don't recall seeing any announcement of the rise for Coventry? Got my Council Tax bill this morning and it says 3.3% higher than last year.

[rebbonk]

I don't recall seeing any announcement of the rise for Coventry? Got my Council Tax bill this morning and it says 3.3% higher than last year.

I had mine too, and I don't recall seeing any announcement either!