Five-year Wyre tax freeze ends for residents

The rise means residents face paying extra council tax right across the board, with the county council also planning an increase of 3.99 per cent.

Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw has already revealed the policing precept will also rise, by 1.99 per cent.

And county’s Combined Fire Authority announced a one per cent rise in its own precept when it met on Monday.

Leader of Wyre Council, Coun Peter Gibson, said: “We’ve frozen council tax for the last five years to ease the financial burden on our residents, despite losing over half of our government funding during that time.

“However, this year there is no freeze grant on offer and both the government and the Office of Budget Responsibility initially assumed councils would raise council tax by 1.75 per cent.

“The government is now suggesting it can be increased by £5 per year, but we’ve decided to stay with 1.75 per cent to keep the increase low and in order to keep providing Wyre’s vital front line services.

“It means an increase for a band D property of £3.15 per year or 6p per week.”

A 3.99 per cent increase in the county council’s precept will see band D payers charged £1,174.86 in 2016/17.

Some two per cent of that increase will go directly to the social services budget, it was revealed last week.

Council leader, County Coun Jennifer Mein said: “We are acutely aware of the impact of these decisions and have listened to the views of local people before finalising the budget.”