Forest Heath to freeze council tax for a third year
A district council has announced it will be freezing its demand for services for the third year running, but council tax payers in Newmarket will face a rise in their bills of more than six per cent as the town council bids to boost its savings.
Forest Heath District Council, which covers the Newmarket and Mildenhall areas, announced on Tuesday that it will hold its element of the total tax demand at £137.43 for a Band D property, the lowest district demand in Suffolk.
But Newmarket town councillors on Monday agreed to increase their demand by 6.67 per cent generating a total precept of £532,918 of which £21,192 or 4.24 per cent would be used to bulk up the council’s savings which its accountant had warned were currently too low at £63,766.
The effect on a Band D property will be an annual increase of £5.80 or 11p a week.
Cllr James Waters, leader of Forest Heath District Council, said it would continue to make savings through its shared service agreement with St Edmundsbury Borough Council.
Suffolk County Council has also announced it won’t be increasing its tax demand as it plans to slice another £24.9 million from its spending in 2013/14. The authority has halved its workforce since 2010.
In East Cambridgeshire district councillors are proposing a council tax increase of two per cent, equating to 5p per week – £2.79 a year for a Band D property.
The Ely-based council, which covers Soham and villages including Burwell, Fordham, Cheveley, Ashley and parts of Newmarket, is in the third year of a medium term financial strategy which will deliver savings of more than £2 million by 2015.
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Weather for Newmarket
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
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Wind direction: West
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